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60992. 


This  BOOK  may  be  kept  out  TWO  WEEKS 
ONLY,  and  is  subject  to  a  fine  of  FIVE 
CENTS  a  day  thereafter.  It  is  due  on  the 
day  indicated  below: 


CELERY   FOR  PROFIT. 


QREINKR.. 


Celery  for  Profit, 


AN  EXPOSE  OF  MODERN 
METHODS  IN  CELERY  GROWING. 


.    BY   T.    GREINER, 

AUTHOR    OF    "ONIONS    FOR    PROFIT,"    "HOW    TO    MAKE    THE    GARDEN 

PAY,"  "THE  NEW  ONION  CULTURE,""  "PRACTICAL 

FARM    CHEMISTRY,"    ETC. 


PUBLISHED   BY 

W.  ATLEE   BURPEE   &  CO.,  SEEDSMEN, 
PHILADELPHIA,   PA. 


Spring,  1893, 


Copyright,  1S93,  by  W.  Atlee  Burpee  &  Co. 


WM.  F.  FELL  &  CO., 

Electrotypebs  and  Printers, 
1220-24  sansom  street,  philadelphia. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I.— GLITTERING  GENERALITIES. 

PAGE 

Rambling  Remarks,  Prospective  and  Retrospective,  ...         9 


CHAPTER  II.— THE  HOME  GARDEN  CROP. 

Good  Results  With  Little  Labor. — Value  of  the  Crop. — The 
Early  Home  Supply. — Raising  the  Plants. — Setting  Out. — 
Blanching  by  Boards. — The  Late  Home  Supply. — Raising  the 
Plants. — Planting.— Blanching, 


CHAPTER  III.— WHERE  THE  PROFIT  LIES. 

Celery  for  the  Summer  Market.— Celery  Growing  in  Kala- 
mazoo.— Chances  Elsewhere. — Growing  the  Plants. — Hotbeds 
and  Greenhouses. — Flats  in  Cucumber  Forcing  House. — The 
Water-bench. — Preparing  the  Ground. — Setting  the  Plants. — 
Culture. — Handling. —Celery  Hoe. — Celery  Hillers. — Methods 
of  Blanching, 26 

CHAPTER  IV.— A  CROP  TO  FILL  IN. 

Celery  for  the  Fall  and  Winter  Market.— Growing  the 
Plants. — Packing  Plants  for  Shipping. — Setting  the  Plants. — U. 
S.  Weather  Signals. — Culture. — Handling. — Blanching,  ...        43 

CHAPTER  v.— THE  NEW  CELERY  CULTURE. 

A  New  Way  Promising  Large  Profits.— Indispensable  Requi- 
sites.— The  New  Method  in  the  Home  Garden.— In  the  Mar- 
ket Garden. — A  Celery  Shed,      50 

60992 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER  VI.— THE  IRRIGATION  PROBLEM. 


PAGE 


Making  Success  a  Certainty. — An  Irrigated  Field. — Irrigation 
by  Box  Ditch, — Tile  Lines  as  Water  Distributors. — Watering 
by   Hose, 57 

CHAPTER  VII.— THE  ENEMIES  OF  THE  CROP. 

Insects  and  Diseases,  and  How  to  Fight  Them. — The  Pars- 
ley Worm. — The  Cabbage  Plusia. — Slugs. — Celery  Blights. — 
Celery   Rust. — Bacteria 63 

CHAPTER  VIII.— THE  WINTERING  PROBLEM. 

How  to  Keep  and  Blanch  the  Crop  for  Winter  Use. — Re- 
quisites of  Success. — Storing  in  Cellar. — In  Box. — In  Hotbed- 
Frame. — Storage  in  Trenches. — In  Root-Houses  or  Pits,  ...         68 

CHAPTER  IX.— MARKETING  METHODS. 

How  to  Turn  the  Crop  Into  Cash.— General  Advice. — Pre- 
paring for  Market — Packages. — Crate  for  Shipping  Summer 
Celery, 74 

CHAPTER  X.— PROFIT  AND  LOSS  ACCOUNT. 

The  Outcome  in  Dollars  and  Cents. — Estimates  of  Profit. — 
Loss  Not  Impossible. — Profits  of  the  Summer  Crop. — Profits  of 
the  Late  Crop. — Final  Word  of  Warning, 80 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS, 


Fig.  *'^°= 

1.  Celery  Plants  Grown  2  Inches  Apart 15 

2.  Celery  Plants  Grown    y>   an  Inch  Apart, 16 

3.  Plant  Properly  Trimmed, 17 

4.  Wooden    Dibbers, i8 

5.  Blanching    by  Boards  (ready  to  be  set  up) 20 

6.  "                 Boards  (in  position,  end  view), 20 

7.  "                 Boards  (in  position,  side  view), 21 

8.  "                Boards  (thrown  back), 21 

9.  Shading   by   Boards, 24 

10.  Fire  Hotbed,  Cross  Section, 28 

11.  Fire   Hotbed,  Length  Section, 29 

12.  Sash-roofed  Greenhouse, 3° 

13.  Rows  of  Flats  in  Cucumber  Forcing  House, 31 

14.  Cross  Section  of  Rows, 35 

15.  Celery  After  Handling, 3^ 

16.  Celery  Tied    with    Cotton   Yarn 37 

17.  Celery   Hoe, 37 

18.  Celery  Hiller  (Planet,  Jr.  Double), 39 

19.  Celery  After   Earthing  Up, 4° 

20.  Machine  for  Hilling  Celery, 40 

21.  Bleaching   by  Various   Methods, 41 

22.  Celery  Plants  in  Basket  for  Shipping, 46 

23.  U.  S.  Weather  Flags, 4^ 

24.  The  New  Celery  Culture  in  the  Home  Garden, 52 

25.  Newly-set  Plants  Shaded  with  Fine  Hay, 53 

26.  Glimpse  at  Corner  of  Patch,  New  Celery  Culture, 54 

27.  A  Celery  Shed, 55 

28.  Irrigated  Field, 57 

29.  Irrigation  by  Box  Ditch, ' 5^ 

30.  Tile  Lines  as  Water  Distributors, 59 

vii 


viii  LIST  OF  ILL  US  TRA  TIONS. 

Fig.  pagb 

31.  Tile  Lines  near  Surface, 60 

32.  Parsley  Worm  and  Cabbage  Plusia, 64 

T^Ty.  Diseased  Leaves, 66 

34.  Celery  Stored    in  Box, 69 

35.  Celery  Stored  in  Hotbed  Frame, 69 

36.  Celery  Stored  in  Narrow  Trench, 7° 

37.  Celery  Stored  in  Wide  Trench, 7' 

38.  W^ays  of  Trimming  the  Roots, 75 

39.  Bunch  of    Celery, 76 

40.  Open  Crate  for  Shipping  Celery 77 

41.  New  Crate  for  Marketing  Celery, 78 


Celery  for  Profit 


I. 

GLITTERING  GENERALITIES. 

RAMBLING    REMARKS,    PROSPECTIVE    AND 
RETROSPECTIVE. 

What  a  remarkable  change — that  which  the  last  decade 
has  witnessed  in  our  celery  industry,  both  in  regard  to  pro- 
duction and  consumption  !  Only  ten  years  ago  celery  was 
a  rarity  and  a  luxury.  The  majority  of  riwal  people- hardly 
knew  it  by  name,  and,  perhaps,  had  never  seen  or  tasted  a 
stalk.  The  professional  market  gardener  grew  it  in  a 
limited  and  laborious  way,  mostly  for  city  consumers  who 
could  afford  to  pay  a  good  price  for  the  article,  and  then 
the  supply  lasted  only  during  a  short  period  of  each  year. 

How  different  now  !  You  find  a  little  patch  of  celery 
in  every  complete  home  garden.  In  various  parts  of  the 
country  it  is  grown  by  tens,  by  hundreds,  even  by  thou- 
sands of  acres.  The  tables  of  every  hotel,  down  to  the 
fourth  and  fifth  rank,  of  every  boarding-house,  no  matter 
how  modest,  are  provided  with  celery  almost  the  whole 
year  round.  People  have  learned  to  like  the  taste  of  the 
vegetable,  and  they  will  have  it.  They  can  afford  to  have 
it,  too,  even  if  they  must  buy  it,  because  the  supply  now 
is  large  and  prices  have  come  down  to  moderate  figures. 

Similar  changes  have,  within  the  memory  of  persons  not 
yet  of  middle  age,  taken  place  in  the  production  and  con- 
sumption  of    strawberries,    grapes,    tomatoes,    and    other 

9 


10  CELERY  FOR  PROFIT. 

fruits  and  vegetables.  All  these  changes  are  hopeful  and 
satisfactory  signs  of  the  times.  The  American  people  are 
getting  to  be  more  and  more  weaned  from  the  flesh-pots  of 
old  Yankeedom,  and  into  the  habit  of  substituting  there- 
for the  fruits  of  the  promised  land.  This  means  a  steady 
move  in  the  right  direction — away  from  an  excessive, 
almost  exclusive  meat  diet,  and  toward  civilization  and 
refinement. 

Notwithstanding  all  the  abundance  of  celery  in  our  mar- 
kets, I  claim  that  we  do  not  yet  grow  enough  to  reach 
fully  around.  Notwithstanding  the  moderate  and  often  low 
prices  at  which  celery  can  now  be  purchased  in  almost 
every  town,  I  claim  that  celery  growing  can  be  made  more 
profitable  than  any  other  branch  of  gardening. 

In  explanation  of  the  one  claim,  I  assert  that  too  many 
rural  people  are  yet  without  a  full  home  supply,  and  in 
that  of  the  other,  that  the  introduction  of  the  White  Plume 
celery,  and  of  improved  methods  of  culture,  are  rendering 
celery  growing  so  simple  and  cheap,  that  the  prices  now 
obtainable,  low  as  they  are,  will  repay  the  cost  of  produc- 
tion many  times  over.  In  fact,  it  has  become  now  as  easy 
to  grow  celery  as  to  grow  carrots  or  potatoes. 

The  introduction  of  the  White  Plume  marks  the  begin- 
ning of  a  new  era  in  celery  culture,  just  as  that  of  the 
Prizetaker  onion  marks  that  of  a  new  era  in  onion  grow- 
ing. In  all  its  consequences  it  has  brought  us  a  complete 
revolution  in  methods. 

The  home  grower  now  need  fear  no  great  difficulty,  no 
unusual  or  excessive  labor,  and  hardly  a  failure.  The  newer 
kinds  and  methods  enable  the  market  grower  to  produce  a 
number  of  times  the  quantity  per  acre  that  was  grown  by 
the  old  practices,  and  in  some  cases  even  two  successive 
celery  crops  on  the  same  piece  of  ground. 

The  old  methods  now  cease  to  be  profitable.     They  are 


GLITTERING  GENERALITIES.  11 

too  cumbersome,  too  troublesome,  too  laborious,  too  ex- 
pensive. The  grower  must,  of  necessity,  adopt  the  newer 
improved  ways  of  culture  or  be  left  behind  in  the  race. 
The  times  of  digging  deep  trenches  for  celery  are  past. 
Even  the  more  recent  but  un-American  system  practiced 
by  the  Kalamazoo  people  will  not  prevail  much  longer. 

If  you  have  a  little  patch  of  ground,  no  matter  how 
small,  that  is  used  for  gardening  purposes,  you  are  (or 
should  be)  a  grower  of  celery.  If  you  grow  celery,  even 
to  the  smallest  extent,  you  will  be  interested  in  the  follow- 
ing pages,  and  it  will  pay  you  well  to  study  the  information 
found  in  them.  I  have  tried  to  give  plain  and  com- 
plete directions,  without  side  issues  or  useless  flourishes. 
May  they  help  the  reader  on  the  way  to  full  success  in  the 
production  of  one  of  the  choicest,  most  palatable,  and 
most  wholesome  vegetables  that  were  ever  brought  under 
cultivation. 

T.  Greiner. 

La  Salle,  N   V.,  Aiitu7)in  of  iSgs, 


II. 

THE  HOME   GARDEN    CRDP. 
GOOD    RESULTS   WITH    LITTLE   LABOR. 

VALUE  OF  THE  CROP. — THE  EARLY  HOME  SUPPLY.— RAISING  THE 
PLANTS  — SETTING  OUT. — BLANCHING  BY  BOARDS. — THE  LATE 
HOME  SUPPLY.— RAISING   THE    PLANTS.— PLANTING.— BLANCHING. 

My  friends  should  not  accuse  me  of  losing  sight  of  my 
text.  I  promised  to  write  on  "  celery  for  profit."  Do  not 
imagine  that  this  does  not  include  the  home  garden  crop. 
If  the  reader  has  never  been  bountifully  provided  with 
good  celery,  or  has  never  observed  "  confirmed  celery  eat- 
ers" "at  work,"  I  wish  he  could  see  the  quantities  of 
this  vegetable  that  are  brought  upon  my  table,  and  notice 
the  keen  enjoyment  with  which  all  members  of  my  family 
take  hold  of  the  crisp  stalks.  I  would  not  miss  the  privi- 
lege of  having  a  full  home  supply  of  this  choice  delicacy  for 
many  dollars.  Many  persons,  probably  a  large  majority, 
cannot  appreciate  the  full  force  of  this  statement,  simply 
because  they  have  never  or  seldom  had  a  chance  to  find 
out  what  a  fine  and  enjoyable  thing  celery,  when  in  per- 
fection, really  is.  They  may  have  had  a  taste  of  the  stale 
stuff  ordinarily  found  in  the  retail  markets — wilted,  tough, 
stringy,  strong  in  flavor — and,  of  course,  they  do  not  like 
it.  The  solid,  brittle  stalks  and  hearts  of  true  chestnut 
flavor  and  crispness  are  an  altogether  different  thing. 

Nine  out  of  every  ten  of  the  many  persons  who  claim 
that  they  "do  not  like  celery  "  I  would  willingly  engage 
to  cure  forever  of  this  dislike,  simply  by  letting  them  have 
a  few  tastes  of  the  crisp,  nutty  centre-stalks  of  well-grown, 
freshly-gathered  celery. 

12 


THE  HOME  GARDEN  CROP.  13 

Thus  far  I  have  spoken  only  of  the  enjoyment  and  com- 
forts found  in  a  good  home  supply  of  good  celery.  Much 
might  also  be  said  about  the  sanitary,  if  not  medical,  effects 
of  a  celery  diet.  This  vegetable  is  generally  recognized 
as  a  nerve  tonic  and  nerve  stimulant.  If  its  free  use  makes 
you  stronger,  healthier,  it  may  save  you  doctors'  visits 
and  outlays  for  medicines.  If  it  saves  expense,  it  has  a 
money  value,  and  is  profitable.  And  then,  health  is  worth 
more  than  money. 

But  besides  all  this  there  is  some  real,  shiny,  jingling 
cash  in  the  home  garden  crop  of  celery.  The  man,  or 
woman,  or  boy,  who  has  succeeded  in  growing  some  nice 
stalks,  always  has  neighbors  who,  when  they  hear  of  it  or 
see  it — may  this  be  early  in  the  season  or  late — will  want 
some.  It  has  been  so  in  my  experience,  and  I  never  knew 
it  to  be  otherwise  anywhere.  They  will  want  it,  and  be 
willing  to  pay  even  a  better  price  for  it  than  the  grower 
could  secure  through  the  regular  channels  of  city  trade. 
It  is  true  the  amounts  may  be  small — a  dime  or  a  quarter 
now  and  then — but  even  small  amounts  come  handy  and 
help  to  bear  the  expenses  of  running  a  home  garden.  Every 
little  helps,  you  know.  Really,  why  not  make  the  home 
garden  self-supporting  by  selling  some  of  the  surplus  vege- 
tables that  even  a  quarter-acre  vegetable  patch  produces  ? 
If  you  raise  good  garden  stuff  of  any  kind,  I  am  sure  there 
will  be  somebody  in  your  vicinity  willing  and  anxious  to 
get  some  of  it  at  a  reasonable  price. 

The  Early  Home  Supply. 
The  first  celery  from  my  home  garden  usually  comes 
upon  my  table  about  or  shortly  after  the  middle  of  July. 
Any  home  grower,  however  unskilled,  can  have  it  at  that 
time  just  as  well  as  myself,  for,  as  I  stated  before,  early 
celery,  after  the  plants  are  grown,  is  as  easily  produced  as 


14  CELERY  FOR  PROFIT. 

carrots,  and  much  easier  than  many  other  of  our  leading 
vegetables. 

Sometimes  I  buy  the  plants  needed  for  the  early  crop. 
White  Plume  is  the  variety  you  want  for  this  purpose. 
Commercial  growers  will  furnish  them  to  you  during  May, 
the  proper  time  for  setting  them  out,  at  $4.00  per  1000.  A 
couple  of  hundred  plants  will  give  an  abundant  supply  to 
even  a  large  family,  and,  perhaps,  some  to  spare  for  the 
neighbors. 

Usually  it  is  safer  and  cheaper  to  grow  the  plants  than 
to  buy  them ;  and  this  is  the  course  I  prefer,  and  always 
try  to  take.  Invest  five  or  ten  cents  in  a  packet  of  White 
Plume  celery  seed.  Along  in  the  latter  part  of  February 
fill  a  flat  box,  or  a  large  flower-pot,  with  nice,  clean,  mellow 
loam,  well  pressed  down  and  firmed.  Apply  water  enough 
to  make  the  soil  quite  moist ;  then  sow  the  seed,  either 
broadcast  or  in  narrow  rows,  rather  thickly,  and  sift  just 
a  little  sand  or  fine  soil  over  it,  firming  well  afterward. 
Cover  the  box  or  pot  with  a  single  thickness  of  light  paper 
or  cloth  to  keep  the  soil  dark  and  moist,  and  set  it  into  the 
kitchen  or  sitting-room  window,  or  in  any  other  place 
having  a  comfortable  but  moderate  temperature.  A  hot- 
bed, with  moderate  bottom  heat,  would  be  a  still  better 
place  for  it,  but  not  every  home  gardener  can  have  it  thus 
early  in  the  season. 

About  ten  days  after  sowing,  the  seeds  will  begin  to 
sprout.  Remove  the  paper  or  cloth  cover  and  gradually 
get  the  young  plants  accustomed  to  the  light  and  air. 
Always  water  promptly,  never  letting  the  soil  become  tho- 
roughly dry,  yet  at  the  same  time  carefully  avoiding  the 
opposite  extreme. 

Next  comes  the  performance  which  professional  garden- 
ers call  "pricking  out."  This  means  the  first  transplant- 
ing of  the  young  seedlings  into  other  boxes  ot  "  flats,"  for 


THE  HOME  GARDEN  CROP. 


15 


the  purpose  of  giving  them  more  and  uniform  space,  and 
of  encouraging  root  growth.  From  two  to  four  small 
boxes — each  say  sixteen  and  one-half  inches  long,  nine 
inches  wide,  and  four  inches  deep — will  hold  all  the  plants 
necessary  for  any  average  family's  home  supply  of  celery. 
In  place  of  the  flats  the  plants  may  be  set  out  directly  in 
a  hot-bed,  or  even  a  cold  frame. 

The  tiny  seedlings  transplant  easily.  Set  them  one-half 
or  three-quarters  of  an  inch  apart,  with  rows  about  three 
inches  apart,  which  will   give   from  fifty  to  seventy-five 


Fig.  I. 


^t>  <^^- 


Plants  in  Flats,  Two  Inches  Apart  in  Row. 

plants  to  the  flat  or  to  an  equivalent  space  in  the  frame. 
Water  well,  and  keep  them  lightly  shaded  for  a  day  or  two, 
should  the  weather  be  very  bright.  This  is  about  all  the 
care  they  will  need  until  their  final  transfer  to  the  open 
ground,  unless  they  should  grow  very  rank,  when  it  will  be 
necessary,  or  at  least  advisable,  to  shear  or  clip  off  a  large 
part  of  the  tops.     Spindling  plants  are  not  wanted. 

Neither  should  we  go  to  the  opposite  extreme.     When 
plants  are  given  much  space,  their  roots  will   develop,  as 


16 


CELER  V  FOR  PROFIT. 


shown  in  Fig.  i.  We  thus  obtain  fine-looking,  short, 
stocky  plants,  and  they  will  be  all  right,  when  we  take 
them  up  with  the  soil  adhering  to  their  roots,  and  set  them 
out  with  some  care. 

In  Fig.  2  we  see  plants  crowded  together  to  one-half 
inch  apart  in  the  row,  as  I  have  advised  you  to  set  them  in 
the  flats  or  frames.  In  this  case  the  roots  grow  long  and 
fleshy,  like  parsley  roots.     These  plants  can  be  taken  up 


Plants  in  Flats,  One-half  Inch  Apart  in  Row 


with  less  care,  and  set  out  in  the  open  ground  more  rapidly 
and  more  conveniently  than  the  others.  The  fleshy  roots 
contain  reserve  forces  upon  which  the  plant  can  draw  dur- 
ing the  time  when  it  tries  to  get  a  new  hold  in  the  soil. 
They  also  reach  down  further  into  the  stratum  of  perpetual 
moisture  than  the  finer,  sprawling  roots  of  the  plants  in 
Fig.  I.  In  short,  the  advantages  seem  to  be  mostly  on  the 
side  of  the  plants  grown  more  closely. 


THE  HOME   GARDEN  CROP. 


17 


Having  once  secured  good  plants — such  as  shown  in  Fig. 
2 — with  which  to  begin  outdoor  operations,  the  battle  is 
about  half  won.  Any  spot,  any  vacant  row  in  the  well- 
manured  garden  may  be  used  for  our  purpose.  Where  the 
garden  was  plowed  ''in  lands"  or  beds,  or  when  furrows 
were  left  purposely  for  surface  drainage,  these  furrows  may 
be  utilized,  or  a  furrow  or  two  may  be  opened  on  a  vacant 


Fig.  3. 


A  Plant  Properly  Trimmed. 


strip,  or  between  crops  of  quick  growth  that  we  know  will 
be  off  by  July,  such  as  early  peas,  radishes,  early  lettuce, 
bunching  onions,  etc.  Fill  these  furrows  with  fine,  rich 
old  compost  (if  containing  a  portion  of  poultry  manure, 
all  the  better)  and  then  mix  this  compost  and  the  soil  well 
together,  either  by  means  of  the  plow,  cultivator,  or  even 

2 


18 


CELERY  FOR  PROFIT. 


with  the  spade.  Firm  the  soil  well,  and  smooth  the  surface 
with  hoe  and  rake,  and  you  are  ready  for  setting  the  plants, 
which  should  always  be  done  as  soon  as  possible  after  the 
ground  is  prepared  and  while  still  moist. 

Stretch  a  garden  line  a  couple  of  inches  to  one  side  of 
where  the  row  of  plants  is  to  stand,  or  make  a  mark  for 
the  row  in  the  most  convenient  way.  Now  get  the  plants 
ready.  Pull  them  up  out  of  the  flats  or  frame ;  put  them 
in  bunches  of  convenient  size,  and  cut  off  the  ends  of  both 
root  and  top,  as  illustrated  in  Fig.  3.    Plants  thus  trimmed 


Fig. 


Wooden  Didders. 


handle  well,  and  usually 
better  than  plants  with 
root-ends  left  on. 

In  nice,  mellow  loam, 
setting  out  celery  plants 
may  be  used  for  making 
to  use  a  small  dibber,  si 
You  can  easily  whittle 
preferably  of  hickory  or 


stand  the  ordeal  of  transplanting 
all   the  tops,  and  the  long,  slim 

sandy  and  especially  mucky  soils, 
is  easy  work,  and  the  index  finger 
the  openings ;  but  I  always  prefer 
milar  to  those  shown  in  Fig.  4. 
one  out  of  a  piece  of  dry  limb, 
apple  tree.     This  will  answer  the 


THE  HOME  GARDEN  CROP.  19 

purpose  as  well  as  any  dibber  you  could  buy.  Set  the 
plants  about  five  inches  apart  in  a  straight  line,  pressing 
the  soil  firmly  about  the  root  of  each  plant.  If  you  want 
to  know  whether  the  work  was  done  right,  take  a  good 
hold  of  one  of  the  leaves  and  pull.  If  the  plant  comes 
out  of  the  ground,  it  was  not  set  firmly  enough  ;  if  the 
leaf  breaks  without  loosening  the  plant,  all  is  right. 

Remember,  however,  that  you  cannot  and  must  not  set 
out  plants  when  the  ground  is  sticky.  The  soil  is  in  best 
condition  for  the  operation  when  only  just  dry  enough  to 
easily  crumble  to  pieces  between  the  fingers.  Then  we 
could  altogether  dispense  with  watering  the  plants  after 
setting,  especially  during  cool  and  cloudy  weather.  If  the 
soil  is  dry,  however,  the  air  warm,  and  the  sky  clear,  the 
application  of  half  a  gill  or  so  of  w^ater  to  each  plant, 
shortly  after  setting  them  out,  is  only  a  reasonable  precau- 
tion and  demand.  It  is  easily  and  quickly  done,  requiring 
only  a  very  few  bucketfuls  of  water  for  the  few  hundred  plants 
set  out  by  the  home  gardener,  and  I  strongly  advise  that  it 
be  done  in  ^// cases,  except  in  cloudy  weather  or  when  rain 
is  expected.  Shading  and  similar  precautions,  serviceable 
in  setting  plants  for  the  later  crops,  during  July  or  August, 
are  hardly  ever  needed  in  setting  those  for  the  early  crop 
during  May,  as  the  soil  then  is  usually  moist  and  moderately 
cool,  and  evaporation  not  excessive. 

Not  much  in  the  way  of  after-cultivation  is  required — a 
little  hoeing,  as  other  crops  receive  it,  is  about  all.  Early 
in  July  the  plants  will  be  large  enough  for  bleaching.  I 
never  "■  bank  "  or  '^  earth  up  "  the  early  crop,  but  prefer 
to  bleach  it  in  the  simplest  manner  by  means  of  a  few  old 
boards,  8  to  12  inches  wdde,  such  as  can  be  found  lying 
about  on  almost  any  place.  There  is  no  need  of  ''hand- 
ling "  or  tying,  either.  Just  take  two  boards,  and  lay  one 
on  each  side  of  the  row  (see  Fig.  5) ;  then   take  hold  of 


20 


CELERY  FOR  PROFIT. 


the  outer  edges,  and  turn  them  up  together  and  against  the 
row  (see  Fig.  6).  That  is  all.  In  a  week  or  two  you  may 
begin  to  use  the  celery.     The  row,  when  boards  are  on, 


Fig.  5. 


^>J^ 


"Ife? 


Boards  Ready  for  Setting  up  Against  the  Row. 


then  looks  as  represented  in  Fig.  7,  and,  with  boards  thrown 
back,  as  represented  in  Fig.  8.  As  fast  as  the  plants  are 
taken  up,  and  boards  become  available  for  use  elsewhere, 
they  are  moved  along  to  a  row,  or  part  of  row,  not  yet 


Fig.  6. 


Boards  in  Position  for  Bleaching. 


blanched.  Thus  the  same  boards  may  be  used  a  number 
of  times  in  succession,  and  the  supply  of  freshly-bleached 
celery  kept  up  until  the  late  celery  is  ready  for  the  table. 


THE  HOME  GARDEN  CROP. 


21 


If  you  have  only  narrow  boards,  say  five  or  six  inches 
wide,  they  will  answer  the  purpose,  if  you  set  them  up  as 
directed,  and,  after  a  few  days,  draw  five  or  six  inches  of 


Fig.  7- 


Row  OF  Celery— Boards  on. 


Fig.  8. 


-  »-  ——s" 
Row  OF  Celery — Boards  Thrown  Back. 


soil  to  the  row  from  each  side,  replacing  the  boards  on  top 
of  this. 


22  CELER  V  FOR  PROFIT. 

The  Late  Home  Supply. 

The  late  home  crop  should  be  ready  in  October  and  last 
until  spring.  Again,  the  first  thing  should  be  to  make  pro- 
visions for  the  plants.  It  is  better,  safer,  cheaper  to  raise 
them  than  to  buy  them.  Really  first-class  plants  cannot 
often  be  bought,  and  when  you  do  buy  them,  you  are  not 
sure  whether  you  have  a  good  kind  or  not.  Sometimes  in 
May  one  can  get,  at  little  cost,  small  seedling  plants  (the 
thinnings)  from  a  celery  grower  in  the  vicinity,  and  these 
may  be  set  out  in  well-prepared  soil,  one-half  or  three- 
fourths  of  an  inch  apart  in  the  row,  kept  well  cultivated 
and  free  from  weeds  until  wanted  for  setting  out  to  make 
the  crop. 

My  advice,  however,  is  to  buy  a  ten -cent  packet  or  an 
ounce  of  seed,  selecting  Giant  Pascal  as  first  choice, 
and  New  Rose  or  some  other  good  pink  variety  as  second. 
These  two  are  the  very  cream  of  the  celeries,  and  to  my 
taste  about  at  the  head  of  the  list  in  quality. 

There  is  no  difficulty  about  raising  the  plants  for  any  one 
who  knows  how  to  prepare  a  garden  spot  for  early  radishes, 
early  beets,  lettuce,  onions,  etc.  They  all  require  a  nice 
smooth  bed  of  rich,  mellow  ground.  The  rows  for  these 
vegetables  are  usually  about  twelve  inches  apart.  This  is  all 
right.  Use  one  of  the  rows  among  the  onions  or  radishes, 
sowing  seed,  at  the  very  earliest  moment  after  the  ground 
can  be  prepared  (March  or  April),  thinly  in  a  shallow  mark, 
as  you  would  sow  carrot  seed ;  cover  lightly  if  at  all,  and 
firm  well,  either  with  a  garden  roller,  if  you  have  one,  or 
with  the  feet. 

The  seed  seldom  fails  to  germinate  promptly  when  thus 
treated.  As  soon  as  the  plants  can  be  seen,  stir  the 
ground  about  them  with  a  wheel-hoe  or  common  hoe,  and 
pull  up  all  weeds  as  fast  as  they  appear  in  the  row.     The 


THE  HOME  GARDEN  CROP.  23 

plants  should  be  thinned  at  the  very  start,  and  no  more 
than  twenty-five  to  fifty  be  allowed  to  remain  to  the  foot 
of  row.  Water  in  very  dry  weather,  but  do  this  thoroughly 
when  you  do  it  at  all.  Give  one  good  soaking  that  will 
last,  rather  than  a  mere  sprinkling  repeated  every  day,  which 
is  of  no  earthly  use. 

Should    the   plants   grow  very  rank,  and   especially  if 
crowded,  make  it  your  business,  some  time   in  June,   to 
shear  or  clip  off  about  one-half  of  the  tops.     The  final 
planting-out  should  be  done  during  July,  as  early  as  con- 
venient, where  the  seasons  are  short,  and  up  to  August,  or 
even  later,  in  the  Middle  States.     Prepare  the  plants,  and 
set  them  out  in    rows    exactly  as    directed  for  the  early 
celery.     If  you  have  well-grown  plants  to  spare,  some  neigh- 
bor will  gladly  take  one  hundred  plants  or  so  for  forty  or 
fifty  cents.      kow,  we  meet  one  difficulty  not  encountered 
in  the  other  case,  namely,  a  hot  and  dry  season.     The  soil 
may  be  parched  and  dust-dry,  and  rains  may  fail  us  for 
weeks.     Under  such  circumstances  it  is  advisable  to  apply 
water  freely  to  the  row  or  rows  a  few  hours  before  the 
plants  are  to  be  set,  and  again  after  they  are  set,  and,  if 
possible,  to  shade  the  plants  slightly  for  the  first  few  days 
after  their  transfer.     A  light  sprinkling  of  fine  hay  over 
the  plants  will  provide  all  the  shading  required  and  usually 
prove  of  material  benefit.     Another  way  of  providing  shade 
may  be  seen  in  Fig.  9.      Drive  little  stakes  slantingly  on 
the  south  or  southeast  side  of  the  row,  a  few  inches  from 
the  line  of  plants,  and  lean  boards  up  against  them.    After 
the  plants  have  become  well  established,  these  boards  can 
then  be  removed.     Rapid  growth  is  now  to  be  encouraged 
in  all  possible  ways,  especially  by  stirring  the  soil  frequently 
and   keeping   the   weeds   down.     Applications   of  water, 
liquid  manure,  or  soapsuds  will   be  of  especial  service  in 
this  direction.     A  part  of  this  late  crop  will  probably  be 


24  CELERY  FOR  PROFIT. 

wanted  for  the  table  fresh  from  the  patch,  although  the 
early  crop  may  well  be  made  to  hold  out  up  to  the  first  or 
middle  of  October.  The  bleaching  process  for  this  part 
should  be  begun  early  in  September,  and  may  be  carried 
on  in  somewhat  the  same  fashion  as  directed  for  early 
celery,  except  that  the  boards  ought  to  be  not  less  than  ten 
to  twelve  inches  wide.  Earthing  up,  as  will  be  described 
in  next  chapter,  may  give  still  better  results,  and  is  espe- 
cially desirable  when  the  plants  are  intended  to  be  left  in 
open  ground  for  use  in  November  and  December. 

The  other  part,  intended  for  winter  storage,  requires  no 
bleaching,  but  it  should  be  handled  or  boarded  up  a  few 


Fig. 


Shading  the  Plants. 

weeks  before  it  is  to  be  taken  up,  in  order  to  make  the 
plants  grow  upright  and  compact.  Late  in  October  or  early 
in  November — at  any  rate  before  the  temperature  has  at 
any  time  gone  much  below  the  freezing  point,  and  surely 
not  below  twenty-three  or  twenty-four  degrees  Fahrenheit — 
lift  the  plants  with  a  spade,  leaving  some  soil  adhering  to 
the  roots,  and  set  them  rather  closely  together  upon  the 
floor  of  a  moist  cellar,  or  upon  a  layer  of  moist  soil  put  into 
a  large  box.  The  bleaching  process  will  then  be  finished 
during  winter,  and  the  plants  may  be  used  as  wanted.  Try 
to  keep  the  roots  moist  and  the  tops  dry  ;  in  this,  with  a 


THE  HOME  GARDEN  CROP.  25 

cool  temperature  and  a  trifle  of  ventilation,  we  have  all 
the  "  secrets"  of  keeping  celery. 

During  the  past  season  I  have  come  across  an  entirely 
new  way  of  growing  celery,  not  only  for  commercial  pur- 
poses, but  also  in  the  home  garden.  You  will  find  in  this 
a  most  valuable  and  true  short-cut.  Look  it  up  in  the 
chapter  on  "  The  New  Celery  Culture."  Let  no  reader  of 
this  book  fail  to  give  this  simple  method  a  trial.  There, 
truly,  he  will  find  ''good  results  with  little  labor." 


III. 

WHERE   THE   PROFIT   LIES. 
CELERY    FOR    THE    SUMMER    MARKET. 

CELERY  GROWING  IN  KALAMAZOO. — CHANCES  ELSEWHERE. — GROWING 
THE  PLANTS. — HOTBEDS  AND  GREENHOUSES. — FLATS  IN  CUCUMBER 
FORCING  HOUSE. — THEWATER  BENCH.— PREPARING  THE  GROUND. — 
SETTING  THE  PLANTS.— CULTURE. — HANDLING.— CELERY  HOE. — 
CELERY    HILLERS. — METHODS    OF    BLANCHING. 

Don't  tell  me  that  the  competition  of  the  Hollanders 
around  Kalamazoo,  Mich.,  is  so  ruinous  that  the  business 
of  growing  early  celery  elsewhere  holds  out  no  further 
promise  of  financial  success.  True,  this  competition  is 
formidable.  The  methods  adopted  by  these  people  and 
their  success — if  such  it  is — are  based  on  a  system  of 
drudgery  to  which  American  vegetable  growers  will  not 
readily  submit,  namely,  on  the  employment  of  the  whole 
family — father,  mother,  grandparents,  and  children  of 
all  ages  and  sizes — keeping  all  of  them  at  work  every 
minute  of  long  working  days.  Even  then  their  profits  are 
not  commensurate  to  their  efforts,  and  if  they  were  forced 
to  employ  able-bodied  working  men  at  full  prices  for  their 
various  operations,  and  then  sell  their  crops  to  the 
''shippers"  as  they  do  now,  it  is  doubtful  whether  the 
industry  would  long  survive. 

The  only  real  advantage  which  the  Kalamazoo  Hol- 
landers seem  to  have  over  growers  elsewhere  possessing 
suitable  celery  soil  is  the  reputation  of  the  Kalamazoo 
product ;  but  this  is  offset  by  serious  disadvantages,  espe- 
cially (i)  the  high  tax  they  are  compelled  to  pay  to 
middlemen    and    express    companies,    in    consequence   of 

26 


WHERE   THE  PROFIT  LIES.  27 

a  wholesale  production  which  demands  the  whole  United 
States  for  a  market,  and  calls  for  long-distance  ship- 
ments, and  (2)  the  great  local  demand  for  manure  which 
results  in  prices  far  more  favorable  to  the  seller  than  to  the 
buyer  and  user. 

Indeed,  there  are  thousands  of  places  in  the  United 
States  where  a  much  better  combination  of  favorable 
conditions  for  the  celery  grower  can  be  found  than  in 
Kalamazoo,  and  where  the  celery  industry  can  be  estab- 
lished on  a  safe  and  American  basis.  But  let  us  make  no 
mistake.  We  must  not  imagine  that  it  will  be  safe  to 
engage  largely  in  growing  ''  celery  for  profit,"  unless  the 
conditions  of  soil  and  market  are  unusually  favorable. 

It  is  true  that  celery  will  thrive  on  almost  any  kind  of 
soil  if  only  rich  enough.  Yet  to  make  its  culture  profitable, 
we  must  be  enabled  to  systematize  the  work,  and  reduce 
the  labor  account  to  a  minimum  by  the  substitution  of 
horse-power  and  improved  implements  for  hand  labor,  and, 
if  possible,  to  surround  the  crop  with  additional  safeguards 
against  failure  by  artificial  irrigation.  In  the  first  place, 
we  must  have  soil  that  is  easily  worked,  such  as  sandy 
muck  or  meadow  land,  clean,  deep,  rich,  mellow,  and  well 
worked.  There  should  also  be  a  never-failing  supply  of 
water  available  for  irrigation.  Next  we  need  plenty  of 
good  manure  at  moderate  prices,  and  finally  a  good  near 
market. 

Wherever  a  combination  of  these  conditions  is  found, 
celery  is  just  the  crop  that  offers  superior  opportunities  for 
profit,  and  the  summer  crop  still  more  than  the  fall  and 
winter  crop.  Early  celery  on  irrigated  land  is  produced 
more  easily  and  cheaply  than  later  celery.  A  full  stand  is 
easily  secured,  as  May  is  much  more  favorable  to  the  opera- 
tion of  setting  plants  than  July  or  August.  Then  the  early 
crop  is  pretty  much  out  of  the  way  of  fungous  diseases ;  it 


28 


CELER  V  FOR  PROFIT, 


is  easily  bleached,  needs  no  storage  facilities,  and  usually 
brings  a  better  price  than  the  other.  Indeed,  the  advantages 
seem  to  be  pretty  much  on  the  side  of  the  summer  celery, 
at  least  after  the  plants  are  secured. 

Growing  the  Plants. 
I  have  already  spoken  of  this  in  the  preceding  chapter. 
The  same  general  principles,  which  govern  the  production 
of  the  plants  for  the  home  garden,  are  applicable  also  to 

Fig.  io. 


Fire  Hotbed.    Cross-Section. 


the  similar  operations  of  the  commercial  grower.  White 
Plume  and  Golden  Self-blanching  are  the  only  varieties 
that  can  here  come  in  consideration.  The  selection  of 
variety,  of  course,  must  always  depend  on  the  whims  and 
fashions  of  the  local  market.  Golden  Self-blanching,  with 
its  rich,  golden-yellow  stalks,  is  a  favorite  in  some  localities ; 
but  it  grows  almost  too  feebly,  and  is  too  easily  affected  by 
disease  to  be  serviceable  for  general  culture.  The  White 
Plume  must  still  be  considered  the  leading  early  sort. 


WHERE   THE  PROFIT  LIES. 


29 


Start  the  plants  under  glass  in  February.  A  hotbed 
with  moderate  bottom-heat  will  answer.  The  commercial 
grower,  however,  should  have  better  facilities  than  just  an 
ordinary  manure  hotbed.  The  least  that  he  ought  to  have 
is  a  fire  hotbed  that  can  be  started  up  at  any  time  when 
wanted,  even  in  the  coldest  weather.  Cross-  and  length- 
sections  of  such  structure  are  given  in  Figs.  lo  and  ii. 
The  bed  is  formed,  in  the  simplest  manner,  by  a  double  row 
of  ordinary  hotbed  sashes,  which  rest  on  a  strong  frame  and 
meet  in  the  centre  on  a  ridge  plank.  Underneath  the  soil, 
which  is  supported  by  heavy  planks  and  strong  timbers,  is 


Fig.  II. 


Fire  Hotbed.    Length-Section. 


the  flue.  Use  fire-brick  for  the  fireplace,  and  for  eight  or 
ten  feet  of  the  flue  next  to  it.  Terra-cotta  pipe  will  do  for 
the  rest  of  the  flue  and  for  the  chimney. 

A  single  hotbed  sash  affords  space  enough  to  start  twenty 
to  thirty  thousand  plants,  and  will  require  one  and  one-half 
or  two  ounces  of  seed  sown  broadcast.  After  sowing,  firm 
the  soil  well  over  the  seed,  then  sift  an  eighth-inch  layer  of 
fine  loam  over  it,  and  keep  slightly  shaded  for  a  week  or 
more,  especially  during  bright  weather. 

The  soil  used  in  all  cases  for  growing  the  plants  should 


30 


CELER  V  FOR  PROFIT. 


be  a  fine,  rich,  porous  loam,  such  as  can  be  found  in  old 
gardens  and  old  pasture  lands ;  or,  still  better,  a  black, 
sandy  muck,  that  has  been  in  cultivation  for  at  least  a  num- 
ber of  years. 

The  possession  of  a  greenhouse,  or  forcing  pit,  renders 
the  job  of  growing  the  plants  much  safer  and  more  con- 
venient. People  who  shun  the  expense  of  putting  up  a 
regular  greenhouse,  but  who  have  plenty  of  hotbed  sashes 
on  hand,  may  build  a  forcing  pit,  as  shown  in  Fig.  12,  and 
heat  it  with  an  ordinary,  cheaply-constructed  flue.     Seed, 


Fig.  12. 


t 


SCALE  OF  FEET 


0  2  4  6  8  10  15 

Forcing  Pit,  Roofed  With  Hotbed  Sashes. 


of  course,  may  be  started  in  bench -beds,  in  same  manner 
as  advised  for  the  hotbed.  The  use  of  flats,  however, 
seems  to  me  a  much  handier  method.  I  always  secure  the 
flat  boxes,  in  which  my  nearest  grocer  receives  his  canned 
meats.  They  are  sixteen  inches  long,  nine  inches  wide, 
and  four  inches  deep,  and  just  as  if  made  purposely  for 
starting  all  kinds  of  early  vegetable  plants.  Fill  them  with 
the  prepared  loam  to  within  half  an  inch  of  the  top ;  water 
thoroughly,  sow  the  seed,  and  cover  it  lightly  with  sifted 
soil,  as  before  directed.     Then  the  flats  may  be  piled  up 


WHERE   THE  PROFIT  LIES. 


31 


on  top  of  each  other  in  some  convenient  corner,  or  under 
the  benches  in  the  greenhouse,  or  in  any  other  place  where 
the  atmosphere  is  moderately  moist,  and  the  temperature 
between  50  and  70  degrees  Fahrenheit.  Leave  them  thus 
for  from  five  to  seven  days ;  then  take  them  down,  water 
again,  and  pile  them  up  as  before,  to  be  left  from  five  to 
seven  days  more,  or  until  the  seeds  begin  to  sprout,  when 
the  flats  must  be  placed  singly  upon  the  benches  and  lightly 
shaded  for  a  little  while  longer.  Even  if  you  have  no 
greenhouse  you  can  start  the  plants  in  the  same  way,  to 

Fig.  13. 


Row  OF  Flats  in  Cucumber  Forcing-House. 

be  ''pricked  out  "  in  the  hotbed  or  cold  frame  later  on, 
thus  avoiding  the  necessity  of  starting  your  beds  so  incon- 
veniently early  in  the  season. 

Houses  used  for  forcing  cucumbers  afford  plenty  of  space 
for  growing  vegetable  plants  in  flats.  The  benches  may  be 
arranged  as  shown  in  Fig.  13,  which  will  need  no  further 
explanation.  The  cucumber  plants  require  only  narrow 
benches,  and  the  space  in  front  of  them  may  just  as  well 
be  utilized  for  the  accommodation  of  a  row  of  flats  as  not. 

For  starting  celery  and   other  fine  seeds,  the  ''water- 


32  CELER  V  FOR  PROFIT, 

bench,"  as  described  by  the  Ohio  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station,  seems  to  me  to  deserve  special  mention.  This 
bench  is  made  with  matched  flooring  laid  in  white  lead,  so 
as  to  be  water-tight.  The  ends  and  sides,  which  should 
not  be  more  than  two  inches  high,  are  also  made  water- 
tight. It  may  be  of  any  dimensions  desired  and  in  any 
part  of  the  greenhouse.  It  may  even  be  placed  underneath 
the  regular  plant  benches,  say  at  least  a  foot  below  the 
bottom  of  the  upper  one,  so  as  to  give  room  to  pass  flats  in 
and  out  easily. 

''The  use  of  these  water-benches,"  says  Prof.  W.  J. 
Green,  'Ms  to  water  seed  just  sown  and  young  plants  re- 
cently transplanted,  without  the  application  of  water  to 
the  surface  of  the  soil.  Seeds  are  sown  in  flats  having 
about  two  inches  depth  of  soil ;  these  flats  are  then  trans- 
ferred to  the  water-bench,  and  watered  by  sub-irrigation, 
which  is  accomplished  by  letting  into  the  water-bench 
sufficient  water  to  soak  the  soil  in  the  flats  quite  thor- 
oughly, but  not  enough  to  make  it  mortar-like  or  pasty. 
Small  plants  are  transplanted  into  flats  and  treated  in  the 
same  manner. 

"The  flats  in  which  seeds  are  sown  may  be  kept  in  the 
lower  water-bench  until  the  seeds  germinate  and  the  young 
plants  appear,  but  if  kept  in  a  dark  place  much  longer  than 
this,  injury  would,  of  course,  result.  In  an  upper  water- 
bench  young  plants  may  be  kept  as  long  as  desired,  and 
watered  by  sub-irrigation  as  often  as  need  be.  This 
method  of  watering  is  satisfactory  and  saves  labor.  Not 
only  can  the  soil  be  thoroughly  and  evenly  watered  in  this 
manner,  but  there  is  no  danger  of  washing  out  seed  or  of 
knocking  over  young  plants." 

When  the  young  seedlings  are  about  one  and  a  half 
inches  high,  they  are  ready  for  "pricking  out"  in  other 
flats.     The  process  has  already  been  described  in  Chapter 


WHERE   THE  PROFIT  LIES.  33 

II,  and  will  need  no  repetition.  Make  the  rows  three 
inches  apart,  and  set  the  plants  in  them  one-half  inch 
apart. 

The  proper  "  hardening  off,"  previous  to  the  final  trans- 
fer of  the  plants  to  open  ground,  should  never  be  neg- 
lected. It  is  a  matter  of  some  importance.  Set  the  flats 
into  an  open  cold  frame,  or  into  some  sheltered  spot  out- 
doors for  a  week  or  so,  and  by  the  end  of  that  time  they 
will  be  ready  for  setting  out. 

Setting  the  Plants. 

The  first  step  in  the  outdoor  operations  is  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  ground.  This  we  expect  to  be  already  rich  and 
well  supplied  with  organic  matter.  Still,  we  can  safely  put 
on  additional  broadcast  dressings  of  good  compost,  and 
they  should  be  heavy,  say  from  fifty  tons  upward  per  acre, 
if  we  depend  on  them  for  making  the  crop.  Old  cow 
manure  is  considered  to  be  a  most  excellent  fertilizer  for 
celery.  I  like  broadcast  application  of  the  barnyard 
manure  much  better  than  putting  it  in  a  furrow  right 
under  the  row,  as  the  roots  of  the  plant  go  quite  a  way  in 
search  for  food,  and  the  latter  will  not  be  out  of  reach  of 
the  plants,  even  if  distributed  all  over  the  ground. 

Then  comes  plowing.  In  the  mellow  soil,  which  alone 
we  consider  suited  to  '' celery  growing  for  profit,"  this  is 
an  easy  job.  Yet  all  possible  pains  should  be  taken  to 
have  it  well  done.  Harrowing  comes  next.  Going  over 
the  ground  a  few  times  with  a  smoothing  harrow,  each 
time  in  a  different  direction,  will  probably  be  sufficient. 
At  any  rate,  make  the  ground  smooth  and  even.  Then 
mark  out  the  rows,  four  feet  apart  if  the  plants  are  to  be 
bleached  by  earthing,  or  three  feet  apart  if  by  boards.  In 
the  latter  case  even  less  distance  between  the  rows  would 
answer.  The  marks  need  not  be  deep  nor  wide.  Any 
3 


34  CELER  Y  FOR  PROFIT. 

ordinary  one-horse  corn  marker,  which  marks  out  three  or 
four  rows  at  a  time,  may  be  used.  By  all  means,  however, 
have  the  rows  straight  and  uniform. 

Now,  also,  is  the  time  to  apply  commercial  fertilizers, 
especially  the  so-called  high-grade,  special  vegetable  ma- 
nures, if  their  use  is  desired  either  to  make  up  for  a 
deficiency  in  the  applications  of  compost,  or  to  heighten 
the  general  effect.  I  like  to  use  them  any  way,  or  in  their 
place  ashes,  bone  meal,  dried  blood,  cotton-seed  meal, 
sulphate  of  potash,  etc.  The  complete  mixed  fertilizers, 
containing  about  four  or  five  per  cent,  nitrogen,  eight  to 
ten  per  cent,  phosphoric  acid,  and  six  to  eight  per  cent, 
potash,  may  be  scattered  in  a  wide  strip  over  each  row,  at 
the  rate  of  looo  to  2000  pounds.  Most  of  the  other  sub- 
stances named  had  better  be  put  on  broadcast  after  the 
first  harrowing,  and  mixed  with  the  soil  by  the  subsequent 
harrowings,  or  they  may  be  drilled  in  with  the  fertilizer 
attachment  of  our  ordinary  grain  drills,  and  the  ground 
marked  out  afterward. 

In  case  we  have  not  the  full  quantity  of  stable  compost 
required  for  broadcast  application,  we  will  have  to  adopt 
another  course.  Plow  and  harrow  the  land  as  advised ; 
then  open  up  deep  furrows,  going  back  and  forth  in  the 
same  place  and  letting  the  plow  down  as  far  as  practicable  ; 
next  fill  these  furrows  or  trenches  half  full  of  the  compost, 
and  mix  this  well  with  soil,  filling  the  trenches  at  last 
almost  to  the  top.  How  to  do  this  mixing  and  refilling  in 
the  most  convenient  manner  is  yet  an  open  question  with 
me.  Possibly  one  of  the  easiest  ways  is  to  go  along  in 
each  furrow  with  an  ordinary  horse  cultivator.  In  a  small 
way  it  can  be  done  with  hoe  and  rake  ;  but  in  whatever 
way  done,  I  would  aim  to  have  the  soil  appear  as  shown  in 
Fig.  14.  The  place  where  the  plants  are  to  be  set  should 
form  no  more  than  the  merest  suggestion  of  depression  in 


WHERE   THE  PROFIT  LIES.  35 

the  general  surface,  thus  insuring  safety  to  plants  from  the 
danger  of  being  buried  in  mud  and  sediment  during  heavy 
rains. 

Just  as  soon  as  the  ground  is  ready  to  receive  the  plants 
(and  of  course  the  plants  ready  to  go  out) — say  along  in 
May — the  work  should  proceed  without  unnecessary  delay. 
Take  the  flats  to  the  field;  pull  up  the  plants;  arrange 
them  in  bundles  of  convenient  size,  and  trim  as  advised 
and  illustrated  in  Chapter  II  (see  Fig.  3,  p.  17).  To  do 
the  work  of  setting  the  plants  expeditiously,  you  want  men, 
young  or  old,  that  are  used  to  handling  plants  to  set  them, 
and  a  young  boy  to  distribute  the  plants  ahead  of  the 
planters  as  fast  as  they  need  them.     Let  each  planter  have 


Cross-Section  of  Rows. 

a  dibber,  such  as  shown  in  Fig.  4  (page  18),  and  see  that 
he  takes  pains  to  firm  the  soil  well  around  the  roots  of  the 
plants.  The  latter  should  stand  five  or  six  inches  apart  in 
the  rows.  On  the  whole,  it  is  an  easy  matter  for  people 
accustomed  to  such  work  to  set  out  the  plants  in  this  kind 
of  soil,  and  a  few  good  men  will  soon  set  an  acre.  Instead 
of  marking  out  the  rows  the  plants  may  be  set  along  a 
garden  line  stretched  tightly  directly  over  the  manure- 
filled  furrows. 

Culture,  Handling,  and  Bleaching. 
What  we  now  desire  is  rapid,  thrifty  growth.     This  is 
dependent  not  only  on   the  amount  of  plant  food  (with 
moderate  moisture)  placed  in  reach  of  the  roots,  but  also 


36  CELERY  FOR  PROFIT. 

on  its  availability.  Frequent  stirring  of  the  soil  aids  the 
plants  to  get  hold  of  their  food.  It  gives  life  to  soil  and 
plant,  and  promotes  thrift  and  luxuriance.  The  same  cul- 
tivation and  general  treatment  required  for  all  other  garden 
crops  is  needed.  I  think  highly  of  the  Planet  Jr.  horse- 
hoe.  Use  the  narrow  blades.  Begin  this  operation  a  few 
days  after  the  plants  are  planted  out.  Go  back  and  forth 
in  each  space,  and  quite  close  to  the  right-hand  row  each 
time,  thus  stirring  the  soil  close  up  to  the  plants.  Repeat 
often  ;  it  cannot  well  be  overdone. 

In   case  a  good  market  is  available  for  them,  a  crop  of 
radishes,  or  of  cabbage  or  cauliflower  plants  may  be  grown 

F.G.  15. 


Celery  After  Handling. 


between  the  rows  of  celery.  You  can  sow  two  or  three 
rows  of  these  vegetables  in  each  space  with  the  garden  seed- 
drill,  and  cultivate  with  hand  wheel-hoes.  The  radishes 
and  cabbage  plants,  etc.,  will  be  off  in  time  to  make  room 
for  working  the  celery  when  that  work  is  needed.  Usually, 
however,  it  will  be  found  preferable  to  leave  the  spaces 
between  the  celery  rows  vacant,  thus  preventing  all  inter- 
ference with  thorough  and  convenient  work  in  cultivating 
the  celery  crop. 

The  manipulation  known  as  *•'  handling"  formerly  con- 
sumed much  time  and  labor.      It  was  usually  performed  by 


WHERE   THE  PROFIT  LIES. 


37 


packing  some  soil  around  the  plant  with  one  hand  while 
the  other  held  the  stalks  closely  together.  Amateurs  and 
family  gardeners  often  secured  the  same  result  by  winding 
cotton  yarn  once  around  each  plant.  Fig.  15  will  show 
you  how  the  plants  appear  when  soil  is  packed  about  them 


Fig.  16. 


M^ 


A..JAA 


Celeky  After  Tying. 

by  hand,  while  Fig.  16  shows  the  plants  after  they  are  tied. 
Both  methods  are  laborious  and  cumbersome,  and  must 
yield  to  simpler  ways  when  we  grow  celery  for  profit. 

Two  years  ago  I  saw  for  the  first  time  the  tool  illustrated 
in  Fig.  17,  in  use  on  Mr.  John  F.  White's  celery  farm  near 
Mount  Morris,  N.  Y.     This  is  simply  an  ordinary  old  hoe 


Celery  Hoe. 


with  blade  enlarged  by  riveting  to  it  a  piece  of  a  worn^ 
out  crosscut  saw,  eighteen  inches  long.  Two  men,  each 
one  provided  with  one  of  these  hoes,  take  one  row.  One 
goes  on  one  side,  the  other  on  the  other  side.  Each  one 
puts  his  hoe  across  the  row,  setting  the  blade  down  about 
midway  between  it  and   the   next  row,  and   then   drawing 


38  CELERY  FOR  PROFIT. 

the  soil  toward  the  plants,  under  the  foliage  and  against 
the  stalks,  and  as  this  is  done  from  both  sides,  the  plants 
are  straightened  up  and  all  the  stalks  of  each  held  closely 
together  by  the  soil  piled  up  against  them.  This  is  done 
at  a  rather  early  stage  of  the  plants'  growth,  perhaps  four 
or  five  weeks  after  they  are  set  in  open  ground,  or  some 
time  in  June,  for  this  early  crop.  It  teaches  plants  while 
yet  young  to  lead  an  "upright  "  life. 

The  manufacturers  of  the  Planet  Jr.  horse-hoe  are  now 
making  an  attachment  to  that  implement  for  hilling  celery 
in  two  styles,  the  single  and  double.  The  single  celery 
hiller,  they  say,  "  works  but  one  side  at  a  time,  and  throws 
harder  and  higher  than  the  double,  and  is  adapted  to  all 
width  rows,  from  two  feet  to  ten.  It  also  has  the  leaf  lifter 
and  lever  expander.  It  is  the  more  satisfactory  for  the  last 
and  highest  hilling,  and  large  growers  need  both.  The 
single  machine  is  also  often  used  where  the  rows  are  so  close 
together  that  there  is  not  enough  earth  to  complete  hilling 
up  both  rows  at  once.  The  single  hiller  is  then  used  to  hill 
very  high  every  other  row,  taking  away  most  of  the  earth 
from  the  alternate  rows.  Then  when  the  blanched  row  is 
marketed  it  is  again  used  to  hill  up  the  remaining  row.  It 
is  also  used  to  bank  up  the  celery  when  storing  in  trenches 
for  winter." 

For  the  double  machine,  the  following  points  are  claimed  : 
"  It  hills  all  rows  from  the  first  to  the  last  time,  when  not 
planted  over  four  and  one-half  feet  apart.  In  the  first  hill- 
ing the  detachable  leaf  guards  are  invaluable,  enabling  the 
operator  to  throw  up  the  earth  beneath  all  the  leaves,  so 
close  as  to  make  the  first ' '  handling ' '  very  easy.  Slotted 
knees  at  the  rear  make  the  vertical  adjustment,  while  the 
patent  lever  expander  is  a  simple  and  delightful  method  of 
adjustment  to  width." 

It  is  shown  in  Fig.  i8.     There  may  be  other  implements 


WHERE   THE  PROFIT  LIES.  39 

designed  to  accomplish  the  same  object  and  deserving  to  be 
tested.  At  any  rate  we  must  try  to  do  this  work  in  a  more 
expeditious  and  cheaper  way  than  by  the  old  plan  of 
''  handling  "  on  hands  and  knees. 

The  varieties  which  we  have  planted  for  this  early  crop 
are  said  to  be  self-blanching.  Still  they  will  need  some 
manipulation,  when  planted  in  this  way,  in  order  to  pro- 
duce a  nice,  salable  article,  just  the  same  as  if  we  had 
planted  other  kinds,  for  instance,  blanching  by  boards, 
as  described  in  Chapter  II,  and  illustrated  by  Figs.  5,  6,  7, 
and  8.     It  is  often  claimed  that  celery,  when  blanched  by 

Fig.  18. 


Planet,  Jr.  Celery  Hiller. 


boards,  is  of  inferior  quality.  I  have  never  found  much 
difference  between  stalks  blanched  by  boards  or  by  earth- 
ing up.  Quality,  I  think,  depends  on  variety,  and  still 
more  on  rapid  growth  consequent  upon  high  culture.  I 
have  no  difficulty  in  producing  celery  of  the  very  best 
quality,  sweet  as  nutmeats  and  brittle  as  glass,  by  means  of 
board-blanching. 

By  far  the  largest  part  of  all  celery  grown  for  market  is 
yet  blanched  by  earthing  up.  A  furrow  is  first  thrown 
from  each  side  against  the  "  handled  "  plants  with  a  one- 
horse  plow,  the  earth  then  drawn  further  up  to  them  with 


40 


CELERY  FOR  PROFIT. 


a  hoe,  and  the  earthing  up  finished  with  spade  or  shovel. 
The  plants  then  appear  as  shown  in  Fig.  19. 


Fig.  19. 


Celery  after  Earthing  Up. 


This  old  way,  however,  is  again  too  cumbersome,  too 
laborious,  too  expensive.  We  must  find  cheaper  ways  of 
accomplishing   the  same  object,  and  I  believe  it  can  be 


Fig. 


Machine  ior  Hilling  Celery. 


done  well  enough  for  all  practical  purposes  by  means  of  a 
plow,  winged  shovel-plow,  the  Planet  Jr.  celery  hi  Her,  or 
of  other  tools  designed   for   the  same  purpose.     Fig.   20 


WHERE  THE  PROFIT  LIES. 


41 


represents  a  machine  of  this  kind  recently  patented  by 
Maurice  M.  Ranney,  of  Michigan.  I  have  not  had  a 
chance  to  try  it.  Perhaps  it  will  fill  the  bill ;  at  least  I 
hope  so,  for  the  work  must  be  done  in  some  such  way  if 
we  desire  to  secure  the  best  financial  success  in  celery 
growing. 

The  proper  time  for  putting  on  the  boards,  or  earthing 
u})  the  rows,  is  when   the  plants  have  nearly  reached  suit- 


Fig.  21. 


Methods  of  Blanching. 
«, with  Tiles  ;  />,  with  Paper;  c,  with  Extension  Bleachers. 


able  size  for  market.      Ten  or  fifteen  days  of  good  growing 
weather  will  then  fit  them  for  use  or  sale. 

There  are  still  other  methods  of  blanching  celery.  I 
have  tried  all  I  could  hear  of,  but  find  none  of  them  cheap 
or  satisfactory  enough  for  universal  use.  This  is  the  case 
with  blanching  by  means  of  standing  a  three-inch  tile  over 
each  plant,  although  it  does  the  work  quite  well.  Some 
years  ago  I  had  some  "  extension  "  tiles  made  for  the  very 


42  CELER  Y  FOR  PROFIT, 

purpose  of  blanching  celery.  They  are  shaped  like  flower- 
puts  without  bottom,  and  fit  nicely  upon  one  another.  But 
they  are  altogether  too  expensive,  and  inconvenient  to 
store  and  handle.  I  have  given  up  the  idea  entirely.  Then 
there  is  the  method  of  blanching  by  paper.  Ordinary 
brown  wrapping  paper  will  do  very  well.  Cut  pieces  about 
twelve  by  eight  or  nine  inches,  and  wrap  one  firmly  around 
each  plant,  tying  with  string.  Plants  thus  treated  will 
blanch  moderately  well  in  the  usual  time.  Fig.  21  illus- 
trates these  various  methods  of  blanching ;  but  I  give  them 
more  for  the  sake  of  information,  than  in  the  expectation 
that  the  celery  grower  ''for  profit"  will  make  practical 
use  of  them. 

By  whatever  means  the  early  celery  is  grown  and 
blanched,  it  should  be  put  on  the  market  without  much 
loss  of  time.  Earliest  in  market  usually  means  most  money 
in  pocket.     There  is  where  the  profit  lies. 


IV. 

A   CROP   TO   FILL    IN. 
CELERY   FOR  THE    FALL   AND    WINTER   MARKET. 

GROWING  THE  PLANTS. — PACKING  PLANTS  FOR  SHIPPING. — SETTING 
THE  PLANTS. — UNITED  STATES  WEATHER  SIGNALS. — CULTURE. — 
HANDLING. — BLANCHING. 

The  late  celery,  even  if  it  should  be  less  profitable  than 
the  early  crop,  is  yet  a  very  handy  one.  Whenever  a  piece 
of  ground  becomes  vacant  in  July  or  August,  or  even  in 
September  further  south,  and  the  market  gardener  knows 
no  other  crop  to  plant  for  profit,  celery  is  the  one  he  most 
likely  will  select.  Often  the  gardener  must  choose  between 
raising  celery  or  letting  the  land  lie  idle  for  the  rest  of  the 
season.  Late  celery,  in  brief,  is  a  crop  that  gives  an  oppor- 
tunity for  raising  a  second  paying  crop  after  early  peas, 
early  beets,  early  potatoes,  bunching  or  pickling  onions, 
early  cabbage,  strawberries,  even  early  celery,  and  perhaps 
other  crops,  and  for  putting  one's  own  and  one's  hired 
men's  labor  to  good  use,  when  otherwise  there  might  not 
be  enough  to  do  for  all  hands.  The  crop,  indeed,  comes 
very  handy  for  ''  filling  in." 

Growing  the  Plants. 
First  get  the  seed.  Select  the  variety  that  finds  most  favor 
with  your  customers  or  in  your  available  markets.  Golden 
Heart  (Half  Dwarf)  is  now  more  generally  grown  than 
any  other.  Giant  Pascal,  I  think,  would  ''take"  in  any 
market,  and  Boston  Market  is  a  favorite  in  some  localities. 
Procure  the  seed  early,  and  test  it  to  be  sure  that  it  will 
germinate  promptly.  A  pound  of  seed  should  give  you 
250,000  plants.        Possibly  twice   that   number  might  be 

43 


44  CELER  V  FOR  PROFIT. 

raised  from  it.  To  make  sure  of  a  good  stand,  however, 
it  is  advisable  to  sow  a  pound  on  about  5000  feet  of  row, 
or  one  ounce  on  300  feet  of  row.  Thus  you  may  calcu- 
late to  get  at  least  150,000  good  plants  from  the  one  pound, 
or  almost  10,000  from  the  one  ounce  of  seed.  Heroic  thin- 
ning in  the  first  stages  of  the  plants'  growth  will  be  re- 
quired even  then. 

To  serve  as  a  plant-bed,  select  the  nicest,  richest,  mel- 
lowest, best-protected  spot  you  have,  and,  if  shaded  during  a 
small  part  of  the  day,  all  the  better,  but  the  exposure  should 
be  south  or  southeast,  so  that  the  patch  will  be  ready  for 
operation  as  early  as  possible  in  spring.  A  sandy  muck  or 
mould,  or  any  loam  that  is  abundantly  supplied  with  humus, 
is  just  the  thing.  To  fit  it  best  for  the  purpose,  it  may  be 
deeply  plowed  and  laid  off  in  narrow  beds  in  autumn. 
Early  in  spring  apply  a  good  top-dressing  of  poultry  man- 
ure and  of  ashes,  or,  if  you  do  not  have  or  cannot  get  these 
materials,  of  any  other  rich  and  fine  manure.  I  also  like 
to  put  on  some  high-grade  complete  commercial  fertilizer, 
say  at  the  rate  of  1500  to  2000  pounds  per  acre.  It  takes 
but  a  small  spot  for  a  thousand  plants,  and  we  can  well 
afford  to  be  extremely  liberal  with  plant  foods.  The  soil 
should  be  made  almost  excessively  rich  to  give  the  best 
results.     We  need  hardly  fear  to  overdo  this. 

Next,  let  the  soil  be  well  and  deeply  worked  up ;  and, 
after  it  has  been  made  smooth  with  the  harrow,  and  firmed 
with  the  roller  or  otherwise,  it  is  ready  to  receive  the  seed. 
You  can  use  the  garden  seed-drill,  but  you  must  try  to  put 
the  seed  down  very  shallow  and  cover  but  lightly  ;  or,  you 
may  sow  by  hand  in  shallow  marks  ;  then  draw  a  fine  steel 
rake  along  lengthwise  over  each  row,  and  then  again  firm 
the  soil  with  a  garden  roller.  I  usually  sow  by  hand,  and 
without  covering  the  seed,  firm  the  soil  over  the  seed  by 
walking  heel-to-toe  fashion  over  every  row. 


A  CROP  TO  FILL  IN.  45 

Ordinarily  I  put  in  the  seed  for  the  later  or  main  crop 
about  April  ist  to  15th.  If  the  seed  was  good,  and  the 
work  properly  done,  the  young  plants  will  be  pretty  sure  to 
make  their  appearance  in  about  two  weeks  after  sowing. 
To  make  this  all  the  surer,  a  light  sprinkling  of  fine  hay  or 
similar  material  might  be  put  over  the  patch  after  seed  is 
sown,  to  be  again  taken  off  as  soon  as  the  young  plants  have 
come  up.  Such  covering  is  quite  serviceable  in  preventing 
evaporation,  and  in  keeping  the  surface  continuously  moist, 
but  I  have  never  found  it  absolutely  necessary.  The  ground 
rarely  gets  so  thoroughly  dried  out  at  this  season  as  to  pre- 
vent the  prompt  germination  of  good  seed  planted  in 
freshly-stirred  soil,  and  well  firmed  afterward. 

Just  as  soon  as  you  see  the  first  sign  of  plant-life  in  the 
rows,  begin  work  with  the  hand  wheel-hoe.  Any  kind  or 
style,  either  straddling  the  row,  or  going  between,  if  other- 
wise it  does  good  work,  will  do.  Keep  the  soil  well  stirred 
all  the  time  while  the  plants  are  in  the  plant-bed,  clear  up 
to  the  rows,  and  do  not  be  afraid  to  gauge  into  the  plants, 
and  thin  them  quite  thoroughly  where  they  are  crowded. 
Follow  this  up  with  the  hand-weeder,  cutting  down  the 
row  of  plants  to  a  narrow  line,  at  the  same  time  pulling 
out  all  weeds,  and  some  celery  plants,  too,  if  they  get  too 
thick.  I  like  to  have  them  stand  at  least  one-quarter  inch 
apart,  or  from  twenty-five  to  fifty  plants  to  the  foot  of  row 

This  treatment  is  sure  to  give  you  strong,  stocky  plants 
by  the  time  they  are  wanted  for  setting  out,  especially  if 
you  can  give  the  rows  a  good  soaking  once  or  twice  in  dry 
weather.  As  an  extra  help  in  producing  thrifty  growth, 
and  preserving  moisture  in  the  soil,  light  applications  of 
nitrate  of  soda  may  be  given.  I  find  them  very  eftective, 
and  almost  indispensable.  Sow  it  broadcast  as  you  would 
wheat,  at  the  rate  of  a  pound  or  more  to  the  square  rod 
each  time,  making  the  first  application  soon  after  the  seed 


46 


CELERY  FOR  PROFIT. 


is  sown,  and  another  a  few  weeks  later.  In  the  absence  of 
nitrate  of  soda,  pulverized  saltpetre,  in  half  the  quantity, 
may  answer.  Should  the  plants  show  a  tendency  to  grow 
up  tall  and  spindling,  do  not  hesitate  to  shear,  clip,  or  cut 
oif  at  least  one  half  of  their  tops. 

Good  plants  are  thus  grown  quite  cheaply,  and  a  good 
trade  in  them  may  be  worked  up.  In  fact,  this  plant  trade 
is  a  side  issue  that  can  often  be  made  more  remunerative 
than  growing  celery  for  market.  There  is  money  in  celery 
plants,  even  if  you  have  to  sell  them  at  $1.50  per  1000. 
Packed  in  cheap  baskets,  they  can  easily  and  safely  be 
shipped  long  distances.     Simply  put  a  layer  of  sphagnum 


Fig.  22. 


Celery  Plants  Packed  for  Shipping. 

moss  into  the  bottom  of  the  basket,  put  in  the  plants, 
standing  upright  and  surrounded  by  the  moist  moss.  This 
is  the  simplest  way  of  packing  celery  plants  for  shipment. 
This  method  you  find  illustrated  in  Fig.  22. 


Setting  the  Plants. 
The  general  principles  ruling  the  process  of  setting  out 
the  plants  for  the  summer  crop  are  also  applicable  in  this 
case.  The  soil  should  be  enriched  and  prepared,  as  already 
advised  in  Chapter  III.  In  my  latitude  I  like  to  do  this 
work  just  as  soon  as  the  first   crop  is  cleared  off  and   the 


A  CROP  TO  FILL  IN.  47 

land  becomes  available,  even  should  this  be  as  early  as  last 
week  in  June;  but  any  time  in  July  will  do  for  the  winter 
crop.  August  and  September  are  the  months  for  this  work, 
as  we  proceed  further  south. 

The  details  of  the  process  of  setting  out  the  plants  are 
the  same  as  described  for  the  summer  crop.  With  frequent 
rains  at  this  time  the  operation  is  just  as  easy  and  safe. 
Ordinarily,  however,  we  have  just  then  much  sunshine  and 
dry  soil.  If  the  soil  is  a  moist  muck  or  loam,  our  success 
will  be  reasonably  certain  if  we  take  pains  to  plant  shortly 
after  the  ground  has  been  worked,  and,  consequently,  is 
still  moist  clear  to  the  surface.  With  chances  of  irrigation 
well  utilized,  we  have  nothing  to  fear  any  way.  Without 
them,  however,  we  may  find  it  a  difficult  task  to  set  celery 
plants,  no  matter  how  good  and  well-rooted  they  may  be, 
into  hot  and  dust-dry  ground.  I  would  then  advise  to 
water  the  rows  a  few  hours  or  a  half  day  before  planting 
time,  even  if  it  has  to  be  done  with  ordinary  garden 
sprinklers.  Let  the  water  soak  well  into  the  ground  right 
in  line  where  the  plants  are  to  stand.  Be  sure  that  the 
plants,  when  out  of  the  ground,  are  not  exposed  to  air  and 
sun  any  more  than  is  absolutely  unavoidable.  Let  each 
bundle  of  plants,  as  soon  as  properly  prepared  and  trimmed, 
be  dipped  in  water,  or  the  roots  in  a  puddle  of  thin 
mud,  and  then  planted  as  speedily  as  possible.  If  hot  and 
dry  weather  continues,  shade  the  plants  set  out  by  scatter- 
ing a  little  fine  hay  over  them. 

I  do  not  usually  advise  postponing  the  job  of  setting  out 
plants  in  a  dry  time  waiting  for  rain.  It  is  much  better  to 
make  an  extra  effort  to  get  water.  On  the  other  hand,  I 
like  it  well  enough  to  have  a  cloudy  day  for  the  work,  and 
rain  soon  following  after.  People  who  have  access  to  a 
daily  paper,  or  a  chance  to  watch  the  flag  and  whistle  sig- 
nals employed  by  the  United  States  Weather  Bureau,  have 


48 


CELERY  FOR  PROFIT. 


this  great  advantage,  that  they  can  get  reasonably  reliable 
information  about  next  day's  weather.  When  I  have  a  lot  of 
plants  to  set  out,  I  watch  the  weather  forecasts  in  my  daily 
paper  quite  closely.  Should  cloudy  weather  or  rain  be  an- 
nounced for  the  next  day,  I  make  the  best  use  of  my  time, 
and  of  all  the  forces  available,  and  let  the  plants  go  into 
the  ground  as  rapidly  as  possible,  even  if  we  have  to  keep 
at  it  until  after  nightfall. 

The  flag  signals  relating  to  this  phase  of  the  weather  are 
given  by  the  display  of  one  of  three  square  flags.  One  of 
them  is  white,  and  indicates  clear  or  fair  weather ;  one  is 
blue,  and  indicates  rain  or  snow ;  one  white  and  blue,  and 
indicates  local  rains.     Their  general  appearance  is  illus- 


FlG.  23. 


WHITE 


CHANGE  OR  FAIR  RAIN  OR  SNOW  LOCAL  RAINS 

United  States  Weather  Flags. 


trated  in  Fig.  23.  A  black  triangular  flag  refers  to  the 
temperature,  indicating  warmer  weather  when  placed  above 
one  of  the  flags  already  described,  and  colder  weather 
when  placed  below  it.  A  white  flag  with  black  square  in 
centre  announces  the  approach  of  a  sudden  cold  wave. 

Of  the  whistle  signals  there  is  at  first  a  long  blast  of 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  seconds'  duration.  This  is  intended 
simply  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  observer.  Following 
this,  one  long  blast  (four  to  six  seconds)  indicates  fair 
weather,  two  long  blasts  indicate  rain  or  snow,  and  three 
long  blasts  local  rains.  The  short  blasts  refer  to  the  tem- 
perature, namely,  one  blast  meaning  a  higher  temperature, 


A  CROP  TO  FILL  IN.  49 

two  blasts  a  lower  temperature,  and   three  blasts   the  ap- 
proach of  a  cold  wave. 

Culture,  Handling,  and  Bleaching. 

Little  is  here  to  be  said  about  these  operations,  since 
they  are  the  same  as  described  for  the  summer  crop.  You 
may  look  the  directions  up  in  Chapter  III,  if  you  wish. 
There  is  one  exception,  however.  The  winter  celery  need 
not  and  should  not  be  much  blanched  before  it  is  put  into 
storage.  Any  part  of  the  late  crop  that  has  been  properly 
earthed  up,  and  is  in  fit  condition  for  market,  should  be 
disposed  of  as  soon  as  convenient.  Blanching  is  the  first 
step  toward  decay.  Celery  that  by  ''handling  "  or  slight 
hilling  has  been  made  to  grow  upright  and  compact,  will 
have  plenty  of  chance  to  bleach  during  winter,  and  soon 
be  all  right  for  putting  on  the  market. 

In  explanation  of  a  general  principle  I  have  to  add  that 
what  we  call  blanching  or  bleaching  is  not  real  bleaching — 
not  a  change  of  green  to  white — but  only  the  production 
of  new  growth,  which  remains  white  in  the  absence  of 
light.  This  also  explains  why  early  celery  can  be 
''bleached"  in  ten  days  or  two  weeks,  while  the  perfect 
bleaching  of  late  celery  may  require  four  or  six  weeks.  In 
one  case  the  growth  is  rapid,  in  the  other  comparatively 
slow. 


V. 

THE    NEW   CELERY    CULTURE. 
A   NEW   WAY    PROMISING   LARGE   PROFITS. 

INDISPENSABLE  REQUISITES, — THE  NEW  METHOD  IN  THE  HOME  GARDEN. 
— IN  THE  MARKET  GARDEN. — A  CELERY  SHED. 

The  idea  of  growing  celery  so  closely  together  that  it 
will  blanch  under  its  own  shade  is  not  exactly  a  new  one. 
I  have  repeatedly  come  across  it  in  the  agricultural  press  in 
years  past.  Prior  to  the  introduction  of  the  White  Plume 
celery,  little  attention  was  paid  to  the  plan,  for  the  just 
reason  that  there  was  no  variety  in  existence  well  suited 
for  it.  Then  came  the  White  Plume,  and  later  the  Golden 
Self-blanching,  and  they  have  made  '^  the  new  celery 
culture"  a  possibility,  and  to  some  extent  a  success. 

I  have  given  this  new  plan  a  pretty  good  test,  at  least 
for  one  season,  and  think  it  has  its  uses,  and  under  the 
right  conditions  can  be  made  exceedingly  profitable. 

The  two  conditions,  without  which  success  cannot  be 
expected,  or  at  least  made  a  dead  certainty,  are  (i)  plenty 
of  plant  foods,  and  (2)  plenty  of  water.  If  we  wish  to 
grow  on  one  acre  the  same  amount  of  stuff  that  we  have 
been  in  the  habit  of  growing  on  four  or  five,  it  stands  to 
reason  that  we  must  also  put  upon  the  one  acre  the  same 
quantities  of  manure  that  we  used  to  put  on  the  four  or  five. 
In  short,  there  is  no  use  trying  to  raise  celery  on  the  new 
intensely  intensive  plan  on  any  soil  save  that  which  is  or 
can  be  made  excessively  rich.  Put  all  the  rich,  well-rotted 
compost  on  the  land  that  you  can  plow  under  or  fork  in. 
If  you  make  use  of  commercial  fertilizers,  use  them  at  the 
rate  of  several  tons  per  acre.     Heavy  dressings  of  wood- 

50 


THE  NE  W  CELER  Y  CUL  TURE.  51 

ashes,  dried  blood,  fish  compost,  etc.,  will  come  acceptable. 
The  wonderful  amount  of  celery  that  this  method  enables 
us  to  raise  on  a  piece  of  land  justifies  the  most  lavish  use 
of  fertilizing  materials. 

We  can  also  afford  to  incur  quite  a  considerable  expense 
for  the  sake  of  making  a  water  supply — a  stream,  a  pond, 
a  canal,  wells,  cisterns,  or  whatever  it  may  be — available 
for  irrigating  our  celery  grounds.  Water  we  must  have. 
The  enormous  growth  of  closely-planted  celery  which 
covers  the  ground  with  a  dense  mass  of  foliage  one  to  two 
and  more  feet  high,  pumps  up,  consumes,  and  evaporates 
an  astonishingly  vast  amount  of  moisture.  The  summer 
rains  are  seldom  copious  enough  to  supply  one-half  of  the 
water  needed,  and  unless  water  is  given  by  artificial  means, 
the  soil  will  appear  dry  even  shortly  after  a  moderate  rain. 

The  home  gardener  may  well  depend  on  buckets  and 
garden  sprinklers  for  the  purpose  of  transporting  the  water 
needed  for  his  few  hundred  plants,  and  brought  from  cis- 
tern, well,  washtub,  creek,  or  pond.  But  whoever  has  to 
furnish  the  liquid  element  for  even  a  single  thousand  plants 
in  this  manner  will  most  likely  get  tired  of  carrying  buck- 
ets before  the  season  is  half  gone. 

The  New  Culture  in  the  Home  Garden. 
I  cannot  be  too  emphatic  in  my  advice  to  the  home 
grower.  By  all  means  set  out  two  hundred  or  three  hun- 
dred White  Plume  plants  in  your  richest  and  best-manured 
and  best-prepared  ground.  Set  them  in  short  rows,  ten 
inches  apart,  and  the  plants  five  inches  apart  in  the  rows. 
If  you  have  more  than  eight  rows,  it  may  be  well  to  leave 
the  central  row  vacant  in  order  to  give  you  a  better  chance 
to  reach  all  the  parts  of  the  patch  with  the  watering-buckets 
and  cans.  Fig.  24  gives  a  glimpse  at  the  home  garden 
patch.  There  are  ten  rows,  each  twelve  feet  long,  containing 


52  CELERY  FOR  PROFIT. 

in  the  aggregate  about  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  plants. 
To  make  the  patch  real  snug,  and  to  bleach  the  outside  rows 
all  the  better,  each  bed  is  enclosed  by  boards  eight  to 
twelve  inches  wide  and  as  long  as  necessary,  set  up  on  edge 
as  shown,  and  held  in  position  by  pegs  or  little  stakes. 
This  is  a  pretty  easy  and  simple  way  of  raising  all  the  celery 
you  may  want  from  middle  of  July  to  March  or  April. 
Along  in  May,  or  early  in  June,  plant  a  patch  of  White 
Plume,  with  perhaps  some  Golden  Self-blanching  for  varia- 
tion and  for  trial.  Keep  the  ground  between  the  plants 
well  stirred  for  a  fcAv  weeks.  Usually  there  is  no  need  of 
applying  water  at  this  early  stage.      Soon  the  plants  will 

Fig.  24. 


The  New  Celery  Culture  in  the  Home  Garden. 

cover  the  ground  and  choke  out  most  of  the  weed-growth. 
T  have  made  a  sure  thing  still  surer  by  putting  a  mulch  of 
fine  old  compost  several  inches  deep  between  the  rows  of 
plants  within  a  week  or  two  after  they  were  set  out. 

When  the  plants  begin  to  cover  the  ground,  the  time  for 
water  applications  has  come.  Continued  or  very  heavy 
rains  may  for  a  while  relieve  you  of  the  task  ;  but  do  not 
let  light  rains  or  short  showers  interfere.  Give  the  ground 
a  thorough  soaking  once  every  five  to  ten  days,  according 
to  the  weather.  Washing-suds  and  similar  liquids  are  of 
especial  benefit.  Make  all  such  applications  directly  to 
the  ground  between  the  rows,  flooding  rather  than  sprink- 


THE  NE  W  CELER  V  CUL  TL/RE.  53 

ling.  Overhead  watering  will  not  be  necessary.  You  will 
do  no  harm  even  if  you  should  use  from  twelve  to  fifteen 
buckets  of  water  for  the  patch  shown  in  Fig.  24  at  a  time. 
By  the  first  of  August  or  sooner  the  crop  should  begin  to  be 
available  for  the  table,  and  the  two  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  plants  will  give  a  full  supply  to  a  good-sized  family 
until  late  fall. 

To  provide  for  a  supply  from  that  time  on  until  pretty 
well  toward  spring,  set  another  similar  patch  in  early  July 
or  thereabouts,  on  similarly-prepared  ground,  and  at  simi- 
lar distances,  selecting  Giant  Pascal,  New  Rose,  or  other 
good  non-bleaching  sorts.  A  few  plants  may  again  be  of 
the  White  Plume  or  Golden  Self-blanching  varieties,  in 
order  to  give  you  an  immediately  available  supply  to  last 


Fig. 


Newly-set  Plants  Shaded  by  Mulch  of  Fine  Hay. 

until  the  main  part  has  become  more  thoroughly  blanched 
in  winter  storage. 

In  setting  out  the  plants  during  the  usual  dry  weather  of 
this  period,  use  the  precautions  mentioned  in  the  previous 
chapter.  As  but  part  of  a  square  rod  is  required  for  such 
a  patch,  however,  it  is  not  a  great  thing  to  apply  water 
enough,  previous  to  setting  the  plants,  to  thoroughly 
moisten  the  soil  and  make  the  operation  of  planting  a  suc- 
cess, especially  if  a  little  fine  hay  is  sprinkled  over  the 
plants  afterwaid,  as  shown  in  Fig.  25.  With  plants  crowded 
together  as  closely  as  required  by  the  ''  new  celery  culture," 
a  little  hay  goes  a  great  way. 

The  late  crop  makes  the  bulk   of  its  growth  during  a 


54  CELERY  FOR  PROFIT. 

period  of  usually  more  abundant  rainfall ;  artificial  water- 
ing, therefore,  is  less  imperative  and  less  indispensable,  or- 
dinarily, than  for  the  summer  crop.  Still  there  will  be 
times  when  water  may  be  needed,  and  in  most  cases  an 
occasional  soaking  given  to  the  ground  will  prove  quite 
beneficial. 

The  New  Culture  in  the  Market  Garden. 
The  experiments  heretofore  made  in  this  line  are  neither 
many  nor  extensive,  and  there  are  a  number  of  points  con- 
cerning this  branch  of  the  business  yet  needing  further 

Fig.  26, 


Glimpse  at  Celery  Patch  Grown  on  the  New  Plan. 

investigation  and  tests.  One  of  these  points  is  the  proper 
distance  between  the  plants.  Some  writers  recommend  to 
set  them  seven  by  seven  inches  apart.  I  have  tried  various 
distances.  In  my  early  patch,  last  season,  the  plants  stood 
six  inches  apart,  with  rows  a  foot  apart ;  in  my  late  patch 
they  were  planted  seven  by  seven  inches  apart.  Hereafter 
I  shall  adopt  a  middle  course,  make  the  rows  ten  inches 
apart,  and  set  one  plant  to  each  five  inches  of  row.  This 
puts  the  plants  as  close  as  White  Plume  should  stand,  in 
order  to  bleach  well  without  further  manipulation,  and  yet 
gives  us  a  better  chance   to  mark  out  the  ground,  set  the 


THE  NE  W  CELER  V  CUL  TURE. 


55 


plants,  and  run  the  hand  wheel-hoe  through  the  patch,  than 
when  we  plant  seven  inches  apart  each  way.  In  short, 
five  by  ten  is  much  more  convenient,  and,  I  think,  just 
as  effective.  For  marking  out  the  ground  you  can  use  any 
ordinary  garden  marker  w^ith  teeth  ten  inches  apart,  going 
over  the  ground  both  ways.  Then,  following  the  rows,  set 
a  plant  in  each  cross-mark,  and  one  between. 

Fig.  26  gives  us  a  glimpse  at  a  celery  field  of  this  kind. 

Fig.  27. 


Celery  Shed. 


with  plants  just  making  good  growth.  I  can  assure  you 
that  it  is  a  sight  worth  seeing.  You  will  get  some  idea, 
too,  of  the  amount  of  stuff  growing  on  a  piece  of  ground, 
when  you  come  to  figure  out  the  number  of  plants  required 
to  set  an  acre — more  than  120,000. 

Celery  likes  a  reasonable  amount  of  light.  It  will  not 
thrive  in  shade,  and  especially  not  in  the  shade  of  trees,  as 
their  roots  will  consume  a  part  of  the  plant-food  which  the 


56  CELERY  FOR  PROFIT. 

celery  needs  for  strong  growth.  On  the  other  hand,  I 
find  that  some  little  shade  in  hot  weather  is  quite  beneficial 
and  promotes  rapid  growth.  In  view  of  the  wonderfiil 
possibilities  of  a  piece  of  land  properly  treated  when 
planted  to  celery  on  the  new  plan,  I  am  quite  confident 
that  it  could  be  made  an  exceedingly  profitable  investment 
to  fit  an  otherwise  judiciously  selected  piece  of  ground,  in 
the  manner  shown  in  Fig.  27.  The  idea  is  simply  to  pro- 
vide slight  shading.  For  this  purpose  posts  in  lines  are 
set,  to  stand  eight  or  nine  feet  above  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  and  connected  with  scantlings,  across  which,  in 
turn,  are  placed  slats  or  poles.  The  ground  underneath 
can  be  worked  and  planted  in  the  manner  described  for 
the  new  culture,  and  the  plants  will 'be  safe  from  excessive 
sun-heat,  and  consequently  from  some  of  the  diseases  that 
often  attack  the  exposed  plants  in  the  hot  season. 


VI. 


THE  IRRIGATION  PROBLEM. 
MAKING   SUCCESS  A  CERTAINTY. 

AN    IRRIGATED    FIELD. — IRRIGATION    BY   BOX    DITCH. — TILE    LINES   AS 
WATER    DISTRIBUTORS. — WATERING    BY    HOSE. 

Nowhere  have  I  seen  a  better  solution  of  the  irrigation 
problem  than  on  the  celery  fields  near  Mount  Morris,  New 
York,  already  mentioned  in  this  work.  Fig.  28  represents 
a  plan  of  this  tract  of  muck  land.  The  main  ditch,  which 
is  cut  near  the  foot  of  the  hill  on  almost  a  dead  level,  can 


Fig.  2 


Plan  of  Irrigated  Field. 


be  filled  from  the  little  mountain  stream  rushing  by  at  the 
upper  corner.  Cross  ditches  connect  this  main  ditch  with 
a  parallel  ditch,  which  is  dug  at  the  foot  of  this  tract  and 
serves  as  an  outlet.  When  the  patch  needs  watering,  the 
brook  is  turned  into  the  main  ditch,  and  the  latter  allowed 
to   fill   up.     The   water   seems    to    percolate    quite    easily 

57 


58  CELERY  FOR  PROFIT. 

through  this  sandy  muck,  and  in  a  day's  time  the  whole 
strip  next  to  the  head  ditch,  i  i  i  i,  will  be  pretty  well 
soaked  through.  Then  by  opening  flood-gates  the  water 
is  allowed  to  fill  the  first  section  of  each  cross  ditch, 
and  these  in  their  turn  will  soak  up  the  next  lower  strip, 
2  2  2  2.  Thus  continuing,  the  whole  tract  is  thoroughly 
soaked  up  in  the  course  of  a  few  days.  Here  celery  and 
other  garden  crops  grow  luxuriantly. 

Undoubtedly  there  are  many  other  places  where  similar 
opportunities  for  sub-earth  soaking  exist,  and  wherever 
found  they  should  be  practically  utilized,  as  they  double 
and  treble  the  crops  and  the  value  of  the  land. 

Fig.  29. 


m 


Irrigation  by  Box  Ditch. 

Ordinary  loams  and  ordinary  sub-soils,  however,  do  not 
let  the  water  pass  through  thus  easily  and  freely.  To  dis- 
tribute the  water  from  a  higher  source  of  supply — a  ditch, 
a  canal,  a  pond,  a  brook,  or  stream — we  must  usually  resort 
to  surface  irrigation.  If  we  conduct  the  water  to  the 
highest  part  of  a  field  with  slight  slope,  we  can  then  turn 
it  into  shallow  furrows  made  with  a  hoe  or  hand  plow  be- 
tween the  rows,  six  or  eight  feet  apart,  and  let  it  flow  along 
in  one  after  another,  until  the  corresponding  strip  has  been 
given  a  thorough  watering  or  soaking. 


THE  IRRIGATION  PROBLEM.  59 

A  box  ditch,  as  shown  in  Fig.  29,  may  be  utilized  as  a 
conductor  of  the  main  supply  to  the  highest  part  of  the 
field,  or  sometimes  a  simple  furrow  or  ordinary  shallow  ditch 
may  answer  the  same  purpose. 

A  superior  w-ay  of  distributing  the  water  from  the  main 
supply  to  all  parts  of  the  field  is  by  means  of  tile  lines 
laid  eight  to  ten  inches  deep,  and  as  closely  together  as 
needed  to  make  the  w^ater  reach  to  the  middle  between 
these  lines,  say  eight  or  ten  feet  apart.  Fig.  30  shows  the 
arrangement  of  this  style  of  sub-irrigation  in  the  ''new 
celery  culture."     Each  line  should  be  on  a  dead  level. 

If  the  soil  is  tenacious,  offering  some  resistance  to  the 

Fig.  30. 


^,^^- 


I 

M 

Tile  Lines  as  Water  Distributors. 

free  capillary  passage  of  water,  or  liable  to  become  pasty,  or 
if  it  be  desired  to  arrange  the  tiles  only  for  the  use  of  one 
crop  and  at  least  expense,  I  would  lay  the  lines  more 
closely  together  on  the  surface,  and  only  barely  covered, 
and  leave  the  row  just  over  them  vacant.  This  arrange- 
ment is  made  plain  in  Fig.  31. 

Cheap  home-made  hose  may  also  be  utilized  for  dis- 
tributing the  water  over  the  area  to  be  irrigated.  If  this 
area  is  a  patch  planted  on  "  the  new  culture,"  however,  it 
may  be  w^ell  to  understand  at  the  beginning  that  there  is 
little  chance  to  walk  through,  or  work  in,  an  unbroken 


60  CELERY  FOR  PROFIT. 

planting.  At  suitable  distances  apart  one  or  more  rows 
should  be  left  vacant  to  serve  as  a  path  for  the  person 
carrying  the  hose. 

A  short  time  ago,  Mr.  H.  A.  March,  of  Washington, 
gave  me  the  following  details  of  his  irrigating  plant :  — 

*'  We  have  a  never-failing  spring  of  water  situated  about 
twenty  feet  higher  than  any  of  our  tillable  land.  This 
water  is  brought  down  in  open  troughs  to  the  tanks  on  the 
upper  side  of  the  field  to  be  irrigated,  holding  20,000 
gallons  each.  We  turn  the  water  into  the  tanks  in  the 
heat  of  the  day,  and  the  sun  warms  it  up  to  about  60° 
Fahrenheit. 


Fig.  31, 


0     Gi>^  ^h     (-V*"^- 


Tile  Lines  Near  the  Surface  as  Water  Distributors. 

''To  distribute  the  water,  we  use  a  hose  made  from 
twelve-ounce  duck.  We  take  a  piece  thirty  feet  long, 
and  cut  it  lengthwise  into  three  pieces,  which  makes 
ninety  feet  of  hose  about  two  and  a-half  inches  in  diam- 
eter. We  fetch  the  edges  together,  double  once  over,  and 
with  a  sewing-machine  sew  through  the  four  thicknesses 
twice,  which  makes  a  hose  that  will  stand  a  six  or  eight- 
foot  pressure.  To  make  it  waterproof,  we  use  five  gallons 
of  boiled  linseed-oil  with  half  a  gallon  of  pine  tar, 
melted  together.  Place  the  hose  in  a  wash-tub,  turn  on 
the  oil  hot  (say  160°),  and  saturate  the  cloth  well  with  the 
mixture.    Now,  with  a  clothes-wringer  run  the  hose  through 


THE  IRRIGATION  PROBLEM.  61 

with  the  wringer  screwed  down  rather  tight,  and  it  is  ready 
to  be  hung  up  to  dry.  A  little  pains  must  be  taken  to 
blow  through  it  to  keep  it  from  sticking  together  as  it 
dries.  I  use  an  elder-sprout  about  a  foot  long  with  the 
pith  punched  out.  Tie  a  string  around  one  end  of  tlie 
hose  and  gather  the  other  end  around  the  tube  and  fill  it 
with  wind,  then  hang  it  on  a  line  and  it  will  dry  in  a  few 
days  and  be  ready  for  use.     It  will  last  five  or  six  years. 

"To  join  the  ends,  we  use  a  tin  tube  two  and  a-half 
inches  in  diameter  by  one  foot  long.  It  is  kept  tied  to  one 
end  of  the  hose  all  the  time.  To  connect  them,  draw  the 
open  end  of  the  hose  over  the  tube  of  the  next  joint  and 
tie  it  securely.  When  ready  to  irrigate,  we  take  the  hose 
in  sections  convenient  to  carry,  lay  it  from  our  tanks  to  the 
third  row  from  the  outside  and  down  this  row  to  the  end 
of  the  field.     Then  the  water  is  turned  on. 

"  To  connect  the  hose  with  the  tank,  we  take  a  hard- 
wood stick  fifteen  inches  long,  bore  a  two-inch  hole 
through  it,  and  with  a  hot  iron  burn  it  out  smooth  on 
the  inside,  work  one  end  down  until  it  will  fit  into  the  end 
of  the  hose  next  the  tank  and  tie  it  securely;  then  work 
the  other  end  down  so  that  it  will  fit  tightly  into  a  two- 
and-a-half-inch  hole.  With  a  two-and-a-half-inch  auger 
bore  a  hole  in  the  tank  on  the  side  next  the  field  you  wish 
to  water,  two  inches  up  from  the  bottom — then  no  sediment 
or  dirt  will  wash  into  your  hose.  Push  the  plug  into  the 
hole,  with  a  mallet  give  it  a  few  gentle  taps,  and  the  work 
is  done.  We  now  have  our  water  running,  and  it  can  be 
carried  to  any  part  of  the  field  for  any  crop  that  needs  it. 

''To  prepare  for  setting  out  celery  plants  in  a  rather  dry 
time,  we  take  the  end  of  the  hose  in  hand,  and  fill  the  row 
the  hose  is  in  and  the  two  on  each  side  of  it  about  half  full 
of  water,  working  backward  to  the  end  of  our  first  joint 
(thirty  feet)  ;   then  we  cast  the  first  joint  off  and  go  on  in 


62  CELER  V  FOR  PROFIT. 

the  same  way  until  the  five  rows  are  watered.  We  have  a 
two-and-a-half-inch  plug  ready  to  fit  the  hole  in  the  tank, 
pull  out  our  connection-tube  and  drive  in  the  plug  until 
the  hose  is  again  laid  where  wanted.  A  man  in  this  way 
will  water  three  or  four  acres  in  a  day.  With  a  Planet 
Jr.  cultivator  and  one  horse  we  level  the  ridges  into  the 
furrows,  then  with  a  light  drag  make  the  whole  surface 
smooth  and  level.  In  a  few  hours  the  water  soaks  up 
through  the  dry  earth  and  leaves  a  nice  moist  soil,  that 
will  not  bake,  to  set  our  plants  in,  with  plenty  of  moisture 
and  good  manure  at  the  roots,  where  it  is  most  needed. 
Not  one  in  a  thousand  plants  will  die,  and  hardly  even 
wilt,  in  the  hottest  sun. 

''  As  the  plants  get  larger  we  use  the  Planet  Jr.  to  throw 
a  little  soil  to  them,  and  that  is  all  the  handling  we  give. 
When  they  have  grown  to  six  or  seven  inches,  they  con- 
sume water  very  fast.  Our  man  now  stretches  the  hose 
down  the  fifth  row,  instead  of  the  third,  and  waters  nine 
rows  at  a  time,  for  now  he  waters  the  whole  ground  instead 
of  the  furrows.  By  compressing  the  end  of  the  hose  he 
is  able  to  throw  the  water  eight  or  ten  feet  each  way. 
The  ground  is  thoroughly  soaked  with  warm  water.  In 
about  three  days  we  start  the  cultivator. 

''The  ground  being  underdrained  thirty  feet  apart,  all 
surplus  water  is  immediately  taken  off,  and  this  allows  us 
to  irrigate  at  least  once  a  week,  and  to  use  the  cultivator 
within  a  few  days  after,  to  keep  the  soil  from  baking. 
Under  such  treatment  one  can  almost  see  the  plants 
grow. ' ' 

Thus  far  my  friend  March.  Let  me  add  that  this 
problem  of  irrigation  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to 
every  commercial  celery  grower.  If  practically  solved, 
there  is  nothing  else  of  note  in  the  way  of  highest  success 
in  celery  culture,  either  old  or  new. 


VII. 

THE  ENEMIES  OF  THE  CROP. 

INSECTS  AND  DISEASES,  AND  HOW  TO  FIGHT  THEM. 

THE     PARSLEY     WORM.  —  THE   CABBAGE     PLUSIA.  —  SLUGS.  —  CELERY 
BLIGHTS.  — CELERY   RUST. — BACTERIA. 

Unlike  the  majority  of  the  choicer  garden  vegetables, 
celery  has  no  insect  enemies  that  might  justly  be  called 
destructive  or  formidable.  The  *few  that  attack  the  plant 
are  easily  kept  in  check  by  simple  means. 

Insect  Enemies. 

The  most  conspicuous  and  common  among  the  two  leaf- 
eaters,  which  are  found  on  celery,  is  the  ''celery  cater- 
pillar," which,  although  quite  handsome  in  its  black  and 
yellow-striped  suit,  makes  itself  decidedly  disagreeable  by 
the  nauseating  odor  emitted  from  two  yellow  horns  situated 
on  the  body  just  behind  the  head.  The  adult,  a  beautiful 
butterfly  (^Papilio  asterias),  may  be  seen  flitting  to  and  fro 
about  the  celery  plants,  alighting  here  and  there  for  the 
purpose  of  depositing  its  eggs.  I  always  try  to  kill  the 
beautiful  mischief-maker  whenever  I  have  a  chance.  In 
Fig.  32,  at  ^,  it  is  shown  in  one  of  its  favorite  attitudes. 
The  larva  is  seen  at  a.  Usually  we  find  only  scattering 
specimens,  and  they  may  be  picked  off  by  hand,  or  killed 
by  a  puff  of  bubach  (insect  powder)  from  the  bellows. 

The  second  leaf-eater  is  the  cabbage  plusia  {Plusia  bras- 
sicce).  At  c,  in  same  figure  (32),  you  see  the  larva  in 
the  looping  position,  which  it  assumes  when  moving.  It 
is  about  an  inch  long,  of  a  pale-green  color,  with  longi- 
tudinal lighter  stripes.     The  head   is  small,  and  the  body 

63 


64 


CELERY  FOR  PROFIT. 


gradually  enlarges  from  the  front  backward.  They  are 
more  frequently  found  on  cabbages,  lettuce,  and  a  lot  of 
other  plants,  than  on  celery ;  but  usually  there  are  a  num- 
ber of  them  together,  making  them  more  destructive  when 
they  do  appear  in  the  celery  patch.  Dusting  with  fresh 
insect  powder,  or  spraying  with  kerosene  emulsion,  will  kill 
them.  The  moth,  shown  at  d,  usually  flies  only  by  night, 
but  occasionally  may  be  found  about  in  cloudy  weather. 

Fig.  32. 


Celery  Leaf-eaters.     i^Ha!/ Natural  Size.) 
a.  Celery  Caterpillar  ;  d,  Asterias  Butterfly  ;  c,  Cabbage  Plusia  Larva  ;   d,  Moth. 


More  damage  than  is  done  by  these  leaf-eaters  is  often 
done  by  stalk-gnawing  insects,  especially  by  slugs.  Against 
the  latter,  however,  we  have  simple  and  effective  remedies. 
The  snails  work  at  night.  After  dusk  scatter  powdered, 
fresh  air-slaked  lime  over  the  plants  and  upon  the  ground,  or 
during  the  later  stages  of  growth,  when  slugs  are  most  to  be 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  THE  CROP,  65 

feared,  spray  thoroughly  with  strong  lime-water,  taking  pains 
to  reach  well  under  the  foliage  and  on  the  lower  parts  of 
the  stalks.     Salt  water  will  also  kill  these  slugs. 

Fungous  Diseases. 

The  disease  which  is  most  common  in  our  celery  patches, 
and  gives  us  a  great  deal  of  trouble,  is  the  celery  blight, 
often  wrongly  called  rust.  It  is  due  to  the  rapid  growth  of 
a  fungus,  known  to  mycologists  as  Cercospora  Apii  {Yx.'), 
on  the  leaves.  A  leaflet,  attacked  by  the  blight  is  shown  in 
Fig.  T^2i^  a.  The  disease  is  liable  to  attack  the  plants  in  all 
stages  of  growth,  and  at  almost  all  seasons,  but  ordinarily 
makes  its  first  appearance  when  the  plants  have  reached 
considerable  size,  and  then  spreads  rapidly  in  all  kinds  of 
weather,  and  in  spite  of  all  treatment.  This,  at  least,  is 
my  experience.  White  Plume  and  Golden  Self-bleaching 
are  especially  subject  to  this  and  other  diseases.  I  have 
tried  to  keep  the  blight  in  check  by  thorough  weekly  appli- 
cations of  various  fungicides,  including  ammoniacal  solu- 
tion of  copper  carbonate,  solutions  of  sulphide  of  potas- 
sium, of  corrosive  sublimate,  etc.  ;  but  my  success  has  by 
no  means  been  encouraging.  Usually,  however,  we  can 
get  the  summer  crop  out  of  the  way  before  the  disease  has 
made  much  headway,  and  done  much  damage. 

Above  all  things  we  should  try  to  keep  the  blight  from 
attacking  the  plant-beds.  Never  set  a  plant  in  open  ground 
that  shows  the  least  infection.  Raise  plants,  if  possible,  in 
a  new  location  every  year,  and  never  use  the  same  patch 
that  has  once  been  invaded  by  the  enemy.  Shading  the 
plant-beds  with  lattice-work  laid  over  a  frame,  will  prob- 
ably keep  the  plants  in  health.  Celery  grown  in  a  celery 
shed  (see  Fig.  27)  will  also  be  likely  to  remain  free  from 
the  disease. 

Another  leaf  blight  (^Septoria  Petroselini^  Des.,  var.  Apii, 
5 


6Cy 


CELER  Y  FOR  PROFIT. 


B.  &  C.)  is  also  probably  quite  common,  and  maybe  easily 
confounded  with  the  other.  The  appearance  of  a  blighted 
leaflet  is  shown  at  b,  same  figure.  It  differs  from  other 
celery  blights,  to  the  ordinary  observer,  in  the  more  com- 
plete killing  of  the  leaf  affected. 


Fig.  33. 


Fungous  Diseases  of  Celery. 
a.  Leaf  Blight  {Cercospora  Apii,  Fr.)  ;    <5,  Leaf  Blight  {Septoria  Petroselini,  Des., 
var.  Apii,  B.  &  C.)  ;    c,  Leaf  Spot  {Phyllosticia  Apii,  Hals.)  ;     d.  Rust  {Puc- 
cinia  l>ullata,'W\nt.);     e,  Bacteria  on  Leaf;    /,  Core  of  Plant  affected  with 
Bacteria. 


The  celery  leaf  spot  {Phyllosticia  Apii,  Hals.)  begins  as 
a  dull-brown  patch,  never  becoming  of  the  light  ashy  color 
characteristic   of  the  cercospora  in  one  of  its  stages.     A 


THE  ENEMIES  OF  THE  CROP.  67 

leaflet  attacked  by  spots  is  seen  at  c.  The  leaf  may  be 
attacked  only  in  one  spot,  which,  continuing  to  enlarge, 
causes  the  whole  to  become  brown  and  lifeless,  followed  by 
a  torn  condition.  Two  or  three  of  these  large,  dead  places 
may  be  all  that  the  leaf  contains,  while  the  balance  is 
healthy  and  deep  green. 

The  celery  rust  (^Puccinia  bullata  and  P.  castagnei)  has 
not  yet  been  found  in  this  country,  although  it  appears  to 
have  a  wide  range  geographically.  A  leaflet  affected  with 
P.  bullata  appears  at  d. 

More  rapidly  destructive,  where  it  appears,  than  any  of 
the  preceding,  is  a  bacterial  disease  which  has  not  yet  been 
fully  investigated  and  classified.  The  germs,  when  intro- 
duced into  the  core  of  a  plant,  cause  this  tender  portion  to 
decay  with  greater  rapidity  than  when  placed  in  leaf  tissue. 
The  appearance  of  a  leaf  affected  with  bacteria  is  shown  at 
e.  All  the  dark  portion  abounds  in  germs.  The  central 
portion  of  a  celery  plant,  with  its  heart  infested  and  one 
of  the  outermost  leafstalks  decayed  and  fallen,  is  shown 
at/. 

For  much  of  this  information  about  fungo.us  diseases,  as 
well  as  for  the  illustrations,  I  am  indebted  to  a  special 
bulletin  on  ''Some  Fungous  Diseases  of  the  Celery,"  by 
Prof.  Byron  D.  Halsted,  issued  by  the  New  Jersey  Experi- 
ment Station.  I  am  sorry  so  little  can  be  said  concerning 
the  remedial  or  preventive  treatment  of  these  fungous  pests. 
My  remarks  about  the  treatment  of  Cercospoi^a  Apii  apply 
to  all  the  rest  of  these  diseases.  Most  of  the  experimenters 
claim,  however,  that  spraying  with  the  ammoniacal  solution 
of  copper  carbonate  has  resulted  in  checking  some  of  these 
troubles,  and  in  saving  at  least  a  partial  crop.  The  tests 
should  be  continued. 


VIII. 
THE  WINTERING  PROBLEM. 

HOW   TO   KEEP   AND   BLANCH   TLIE  CROP  FOR 
WINTER  USE. 

REQUISITES  OF  SUCCESS. — STORING  IN  CELLAR. — STORAGE  IN  BOX. — 
STORAGE  IN  HOTBED  FRAME. — STORAGE  IN  TRENCHES. — STORAGE 
IN  ROOT-HOUSES  OR  PITS. 

The  principal  requisites  for  success  in  keeping  and 
blanching  celery  in  winter  storage  are  few  and  simple, 
namely :  — 

(i)  A  storage  place,  dark,  cool,  frost-free,  moist  at  the 
bottom,  dry  from  overhead.  A  trench,  a  cave,  a  cellar 
may  supply  all  these  conditions,  or  if  not,  can  usually  be 
made  to  do  so.  Properly-constructed  root  or  celery  storage 
houses  always  must  supply  them. 

(2)  Celery  free  from  disease,  taken  up,  usually  with  some 
soil  still  adhering  to  the  roots,  before  the  temperature  has 
at  any  time  fallen  below  about  25°  Fahrenheit,  which  in 
my  locality  means  by  the  first  or  middle  of  November. 

(3)  Plants  stood  upright  moderately  close  together,  but 
not  overcrowded  enough  to  exclude  all  circulation  of  air 
around  the  foliage,  with  roots  resting  upon  or  in  moist  soil 
in  one  or  the  other  of  the  storage  places  named.  That  is 
about  all. 

Storing  for  Family  Use. 

One  method  has  already  been  mentioned.  Simply  take 
up  the  plants  at  the  time  specified  by  prying  under  each 
plant  with  a  spade,  simultaneously  taking  hold  of  the  tops 
with  one  hand  and  pulling.  Then  set  them  as  closely 
together  as  the  bunches  of  roots  will  permit,  upon  and 

68 


THE   WINTERING  PROBLEM.  69 

partially  in  a  layer  of  moist  muck  or  loam  in  a  corner  of 
the  cellar.  Keep  this  layer  always  moist,  or  wet,  and  the 
foliage  always  dry.  Use  the  plants  that  were  most  nearly 
blanched  first,  saving  those  which  had  the  least  done  to 
them  in  the  field  for  the  last. 

Fig.  34. 


Storing  Celery  in  Box. 

Instead  of  putting  them  directly  upon  the  cellar  bottom, 
you  may  place  them  into  a  box  of  convenient  size  having 
a  layer  of  muck  or  loam  in  the  bottom.  Just  above  this 
layer  bore  a  few  holes  into  the  sides  of  the  box,  and  through 
these  you  may  apply  water  as  needed.    A  box  thus  arranged 

Fig.  35. 


Stored  in  Hotbed  Frame. 


is  shown  in  Fig.   34.     Place  the  box  in  a  corner  of  the 
cellar  bottom. 

Another  good  way  for  the  home  grower  is  shown  in  Fig. 
35.  Throw  the  old  soil  and  manure  out  of  the  hotbed, 
put  in  a  little  loam,  and  stand  the  celery  upon  and  in  this. 


70 


CELERY  FOR  PROFIT. 


as  advised  for  storage,  in  the  box.  First  cover  with  the 
shutters ;  but  when  winter  comes  in  real  earnest,  put  fine 
hay  or  leaves  upon  the  celery,  filling  the  frame  clear  up  to 
the  top ;  then  replace  the  sashes  and,  finally,  the  shutters, 
and  straw,  hay,  or  other  coarse  materials,  as  a  further 
protection  in  cold  weather.  The  sides  of  the  frame  should 
be  well  banked  up.  A  crop  may  also  be  grown  in  the  hot- 
beds vacant  at  that  season,  by  setting  plants  in  them  seven 
inches  apart  each  way  in  July,  watering  freely ;  then,  as  the 


Storage  in  Trench. 


plants  grow,  putting  another  frame  of  similar  dimensions 
upon  the  first  one,  thus  enclosing  the  plants  to  their  full 
height,  and  then  covering  up  and  protecting  as  already 
described. 

In  an  -  emergency,  a  few  plants,  nicely  cleaned  and 
trimmed,  may  be  kept  for  some  time  by  packing  in  alter- 
nate layers  with  moist  sphagnum  moss.  Of  course,  they 
should  stand  top  side  up. 


THE   WINTERING  PROBLEM.  71 

Storing  for  Market  Purposes. 
For  storage  on  a  large  scale,  the  narrow  trench  system 
(see  Fig.  36)  offers  the  advantage  of  simplicity  and  cheap- 
ness, so  far  as  equipments  are  concerned.  In  some  well- 
drained  spot  dig  a  ditch,  or  ditches,  not  over  a  foot  wide 
and  just  deep  enough  to  sink  the  tops  of  the  stored  plants 
to  the  surface  level.  In  taking  up  the  plants,  sorne  soil 
may  be  left  on  the  roots,  but  many  growers,  to  save  space, 
knock  the  soil  all  off  before  storing  the  plants.  Pack  them 
into  the  trench  as  closely  as  can  well  be  done ;  then  either 
lay  single,  wide  boards  upon  the  ditch,  or  better,  make 

Fig.  37. 


Trench  for  Storing  Celery. 

troughs,  from  two  boards  each,  and  place  them  on  as  a 
cover.  Stop  up  the  ends  with  straw  or  leaves  for  ventila- 
tion. At  the  approach  of  cold  weather  put  on  some  soil, 
and  later  some  coarse  manure,  or  the  like. 

A  wider  trench  is  shown  in  Fig.  37.  This  plan  has  been 
practiced  in  various  localities  for  many  years.  M.  Garra- 
han,  of  Pennsylvania,  gave  me  the  following  description 
of  it: — 

''  We  throw  out  a  trench  four  feet  in  width,  putting  half 
the  dirt  on  each  side  to  facilitate  covering.  The  trenches 
are  just  far  enough  apart  to  drive  between  and  unload  from 
each  side.    A  board  is  run  through  the  centre  of  the  trench 


72  CELERY  FOR  PROFIT. 

to  prevent  the  celery  from  crowding  together  too  closely. 
The  upper  edge  is  about  on  a  level  with  the  top  of  the 
celery.  If  not  packed  too  tight,  it  will  keep  longer  with- 
out rotting.  The  trench  is  dug  two  feet  deep,  more  or  less. 
Rafters  are  cut  from  two  by  four  scantlings  (hemlock  or 
chestnut),  at  an  angle  that  will  bring  the  peak  or  ridge  four 
feet  from  the  bottom  of  trench.  Generally,  three  boards, 
a  foot  wide,  will  cover  each  side.  Ventilators  are  made 
from  common  fence  boards,  inserted  at  reasonable  dis- 
tances, and  in  severe  weather  stuffed  with  litter  to  exclude 
frost. 

''For  about  two  weeks  after  storing,  celery  will  'sweat' 
and  throw  off  a  great  deal  of  moisture.  We,  therefore,  slip 
the  roof  on  as  soon  as  we  can  after  filling  the  trench,  to 
keep  off  rain,  and  leave  the  soil  covering  off  as  long  as  we 
dare.  At  the  approach  of  real  cold  weather,  we  simply 
put  about  a  foot  of  earth  all  over  the  roof.  With  rafters 
four  feet  apart,  we  have  no  trouble  about  the  roof  settling 
under  its  weight. 

"The  advantages  of  this  plan  are  that  one  can  store 
celery  as  fast  as  could  be  done  in  narrow  trenches,  and 
much  faster  than  carrying  the  plants  down  cellar.  It  can 
be  taken  out  at  any  time,  and  in  any  kind  of  weather.  We 
also  insure  immunity  from  rats,  as  we  take  up  the  covering 
and  plow  the  ground  level  in  spring.  Then  we  have  a  lot 
of  lumber  in  the  fall  that  has  been  used  for  banking  up,  so 
that  it  does  not  seem  to  cost  much  money." 

The  "  celery  houses,"  or  "  celery  pits,"  in  use  by  celery 
growers  in  various  sections,  are  constructed  pretty  much 
on  the  same  general  principle  as  the  wide  trench  plan  illus- 
trated in  Fig.  37.  They  vary  in  width  between  six  and 
twenty-four  feet,  and  in  length  to  suit  the  quantity  to  be 
stored.  These  wider  ones  have  a  ridge-pole  resting  on 
posts,  and  for  the  roof  rails,  slabs,  or  old  boards  may  be  laid 


THE   WINTERING  PROBLEM.  73 

across,  from  ground  to  ridge  pole,  and  covered  first  with 
coarse  litter  and  then  with  earth.  Make  the  covering  thick 
enough  to  keep  out  frost.  At  one  end  there  should  be  a 
door,  and  a  window  and  ventilator  at  the  other. 

Such  structures,  of  course,  require  some  attention  during 
the  winter.  Air  must  be  admitted  from  time  to  time,  in 
suitable  weather,  to  prevent  rotting,  and  yet  frost  has  to  be 
excluded. 


IX. 

MARKETING  METHODS. 
HOW  TO  TURN  THE  CROP  INTO  CASH. 

GENERAL   ADVICE. — PREPARING    CELERY    FOR    MARKET. — PACKAGES. — 
CRATE  FOR   SHIPPING  SUMMER   CELERY. 

It  may  be  well  to  repeat  some  of  the  advice  so  frequently 
and  properly  given.  Always  cultivate  your  home  market 
in  preference  to  a  distant  market.  Really  good  celery, 
such  as  any  gardener  can  grow  if  he  follows  the  directions 
given  in  this  book  closely,  is  so  palatable  and  appetizing 
that  you  will  have  no  trouble  in  getting  your  neighbors  and 
townspeople  to  like  it,  and  soon  to  find  it  indispensable.  Try 
to  tempt  their  appetites  and  to  work  up  a  trade.  The  taste 
for  celery  is  growing,  and  when  the  article  is  really  good, 
I  find  it  always  tempts  the  buyer.  Even  small  towns,  when 
well  worked,  can  and  will  consume  large  amounts  of  this 
vegetable. 

When  you  have  more  than  can  be  disposed  of  near  home, 
work  your  nearest  larger  market.  Don't  ship  everything 
to  New  York  city,  to  Boston,  and  Philadelphia.  The 
larger  inland  towns  often  give  you  good  opportunities.  The 
nearest  larger  city  usually  is  your  best  market,  unless  a  trial 
shipment  to  a  more  distant  market  proves  that  to  yield  better 

returns. 

Preparing  for  Market. 

All  efforts  should  be  made  to  get  the  article  into  the 
market  as  fresh  and  crisp  and  as  attractive  in  appearance 
as  possible.  This  may  consume  time,  and  require  expense, 
but  it  should  not  be  neglected  on  that  account,  and  it  will 
be  found  to  be  a  well-paying  investment.     So  far  as  the 

74 


MARKETING  METHODS, 


75 


manner  of  trimming  and  arranging  the  stalks,  and  the  style 
of  packages  are  concerned,  you  must  be  guided  by  the 
whims  and  fashions  of  your  particular  market. 

The  Kalamazoo  shippers  have  made  the  bunch  of  one 
dozen  plants  common  and  popular  in  all  markets ;  but  I 
think  they  make  a  slight  mistake  in  trimming  off  the  root 
with  one  square  cut,  as  shown  at  A  in  Fig.  38.  It  seems  to 
me  much  more  preferable  to  trim  with  four  slanting  cuts,  as 


Fig.  38. 


Ways  of  Trimming  the  Roots. 


shown  at  B.  The  plants  are  taken  from  the  field  or  pit, 
freed  from  nearly  all  the  unbleached  leaves  as  well  as  from 
the  root  part,  then  placed,  a  dozen  at  a  time,  into  a  square 
frame  and  tied  firmly.  We  then  have  bundles  of  a  dozen 
plants  each,  and  these  are  tightly  packed  in  flat  boxes  and 
sent  to  market. 

During  August  and  September  1892  I  have  shipped  the 
results  of   the  "New   Culture"  to  Buffalo,  and    notwith- 


76  CELERY  FOR  PROFIT. 

standing  the  glut  and  low  prices  prevailing  in  the  markets 
during  that  season,  and  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the 
stalks  were  not  bleached  as  perfectly  as  closer  planting  (or 
boarding  up)  would  have  done,  the  cash  returns  were 
enough  to  pay  me  moderately  well. 

On  mucky  or  otherwise  very  loose  soils  the  plants,  when 
not  earthed  up,  may  be  pulled  up  easily  and  expeditiously  by 
hand.  On  more  tenacious  soil,  or  if  plants  were  earthed 
up,  you  will  have  to  make  use  of  spade  or  shovel. 

Fig.  39- 


Bunch  of  Celery. 

Two  large  tanks  or  tubs  filled  with  water  should  be 
handy  by  for  washing  and  rinsing  the  plants.  As  fast  as 
the  plants  are  taken  up,  from  pit  or  field,  remove  the  super- 
fluous leaves,  cut  away  the  roots ;  then  give  the  plants  a 
thorough  washing,  getting  them  thoroughly  clean  by  scrub- 
bing with  a  brush  or  broom,  and  then  rinsing  in  the  second 
tank  or  tub.  Then  tie  them  in  bunches  as  the  market 
requires,  and  ship  them  in  the  customary  package. 

Another  method  of  preparing  celery  for  market,  in  use  by 
Eastern  growers,  is  the   one  illustrated  in   Fig.  39.     The 


Jl/A  RKE  TING  ME  TIIODS. 


77 


plants  are  cleansed  and  trimmed,  so  that  the  heart  of  each 
is  well  exposed,  giving  the  plant  a  somewhat  flattish  shape. 
Then  from  two  to  four,  and  even  up  to  five  roots,  according 
to  size,  are  fastened  together  as  shown  in  illustration,  either 
by  means  of  a  long  nail  driven  through  the  base  of  the 
plants,  or  by  tying  with  twine,  and  always  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  the  hearts  are  all  exposed  to  view  on  one  side. 
The  Boston  market  demands  that  the  crop  shall  be  exposed 
for  sale  in  oblong  boxes  which  equal  a  barrel  in  capacity. 


Fig.  40. 


JI 


.'?y^'->A^ 


Open  Crate  for  Shipping  Celery. 


and  that  the  bunches  of  celery  be  of  such  a  size  that  three 
dozen  of  them  will  fill  the  box  even  full. 

New  Jersey  growers  often  pack  the  bunches  tightly  in 
large  barrels,  making  bunches  of  which  from  three  to  four 
dozen  will  fill  the  barrel. 

For  most  local  markets  the  grower  may  use  any  kind  of 
package — box,  crate,  or  barrel — which  he  finds  most  avail- 
able or  most  convenient.  I  have  shipped  part  of  my  crop 
in  bunches  of  a  dozen  roots  each  to  the  near  Buffalo  mar- 
kets, packed  in  open  crates  as  shown  in  Fig.  40.  This  plan 
works  all  right  provided  you  can  ship  the  freshly-gathered 


78  CELER  V  FOR  PROFIT. 

and  prepared  plants  in  the  evening,  as  I  do,  and  have  them 
in  market  by  four  or  five  o'clock  the  next  morning,  and 
usually  sold  the  same  forenoon.  Celery,  if  left  lying  about 
open  in  commission  and  retail  stores,  soon  deteriorates,  and 
at  last  becomes  worthless.  I  always  instruct  my  commis- 
sion merchant  to  sell  without  much  delay,  at  a  small  price 
if  he  cannot  get  a  big  one,  but  to  sell  any  way. 

Crate  for  Shipping  Summer  Celery. 
Not  everybody  is  so  situated  that   he  can  get  his  crop 
into  the  retailer's  or  consumer's  hand  thus  promptly.     The 
risks  in  consequence  of  wilting  are  especially  serious  with 

Fig.  41. 


Crate  for  Summer  Celery. 

the  summer  crop.  Mr.  Robert  Niven  has  used  the  crate 
illustrated  in  Fig.  41  with  satisfactory  results. 

It  is  made  of  three-quarter-inch  stuff,  one  side  being 
twenty  inches  long,  the  other  fourteen  and  a  half  inches 
long.  The  lower  slats  have  a  width  of  four  inches,  the 
upper  ones  a  width  of  one  and  a  half  inches.  The  posts 
are  twelve  inches  long  and  one  inch  square,  and  nailed 
inside  the  corners.  The  joints  are  mitred  and  painted 
before  nailing  together,  and  the  bottom  is  made  water- 
tight all  around. 

The  plants  to  be  shipped  in  these  crates  are  left  with 
roots   on.     They   are    properly  washed   and    rinsed,  then 


MARKETING  METHODS.  79 

bunched,  and  packed  upright  into  the  crates,  enough  water 
being  poured  into  the  latter  to  cover  the  roots.  Thus  put 
up,  the  celery  will  keep  for  a  week  or  longer  in  good  con- 
dition, and  the  commission  merchants  may  thus  ship  them 
safely  to  hotels  and  stores  throughout  the  country. 


PROFIT  AND  LOSS  ACCOUNT. 

THE  OUTCOME  IN  DOLLARS  AND  CENTS. 

ESTIMATES  OF  PROFIT. — LOSS  NOT  IMPOSSIBLE. — PROFITS  OF  THE 
SUMMER  CROP. — PROFITS  OF  THE  WINTER  CROP. — FINAL  WORD 
OF  WARNING. 

Before  engaging  in  a  new  enterprise,  the  prudent  busi- 
ness man  always  tries  to  figure  out  the  exact  amount  of 
profits  that  he  thinks  he  may  expect  as  the  final  outcome 
of  his  venture.  This  is  no  more  than  it  should  be.  In 
the  course  of  similar  arithmetical  efforts,  the  celery  grower 
obtains  a  mental  view  of  the  possibilities  of  the  crop,  and 
an  aim  for  his  labors. 

This  is  not  all.  The  soil-tiller  is  very  likely  to  look  over 
his  crops  from  time  to  time,  and  watch  their  progress,  and 
figure  out  in  his  mind  how  much  they  may  yield  him  in 
clean  cash.  Few  people,  however,  are  in  the  situation,  or 
will  try  to  make  as  careful  an  estimate  of  the  expenses  and 
returns  a  year  ahead,  as  the  State  and  National  Govern- 
ments, for  instance,  are  in  the  habit  of  making  yearly  of 
their  revenues  and  disbursements.  The  reason,  too,  is 
plain.  There  are  only  too  many  elements  of  uncertainty, 
too  many  unknown  quantities,  in  the  figures  which  have 
to  serve  as  basis  for  the  soil-tiller's  calculations.  Who  can 
tell  what  the  season  will  be — whether  a  favorable  one  or 
not?  Who  can  foresee  what  accidents  may  befall  the 
crop  ?  Who  can  know  what  prices  will  be  ruling — whether 
high  or  low?  Many  of  the  conditions  that  influence  plant 
growth  are  yet  shrouded  in  mystery.     Even  the  individual 

80 


PROFIT  AND  LOSS  ACCOUNT.  81 

grower,  who  knows  all  the  details  of  his  environments, 
who  is  thoroughly  acquainted  with  his  soil  and  its  treat- 
ment, his  location  and  its  special  adaptabilities,  his  markets 
and  their  whims,  etc.,  cannot,  with  entire  safety,  make  a 
reliable  estimate.  If  I  undertake  to  make  it  for  others,  I 
can  only  do  so  under  the  assumption  that  the  conditions  of 
soil  and  market,  etc.,  are  such  as  I  have  advised  to  select, 
and  such  as  represent  a  moderately  favorable  combina- 
tion. 

The  soil-tiller's  estimates,  in  fact,  are  seldom  safe.  The 
ruling  emotion  in  the  human  heart  is  hope.  It  is  just  what 
stimulates  our  efforts  and  actions.  Without  it  all  would  be 
stagnancy,  despair,  death.  We  are  inclined  to  take  a  rosy 
view  of  the  situation,  and  thus  we  usually  rest  our  calcula- 
tions on  the  possible  combination  of  conditions  that  are  all 
favorable,  rather  than  on  the  far  more  probable  mixture  of 
favorable,  unfavorable,  and  indifferent  conditions.  Some- 
times the  ''carefully  made"  estimates  may  show  a  nice 
profit,  but  when  the  balance  is  drawn  after  the  crop  is  all 
disposed  of,  the  books  may  show  an  actual  loss.  The  crop 
is  an  expensive  one.  For  the  person  who  has  made  an  in- 
judicious selection  of  environments,  or  for  the  careless 
manager,  loss,  in  short,  is  not  an  impossibility.  But  it 
should  not  occur  otherwise. 

Still  it  may  be  well  to  aim  high.  We  may  set  a  mark 
somewhat  below  the  possibilities  of  the  crop  and  within 
reach  and  reason,  and  then  try  to  hit  it  or  at  least  to  work 
as  near  to  it  as  possible.  Close  watch  of  the  development 
of  the  crops,  of  the  prices,  etc.,  will  soon  show  us  the  causes 
of  failures  which  seldom  are  entirely  avoided  in  our  first 
trials.  With  the  causes  once  known  to  us,  a  little  effort 
will  soon  enable  us  to  find  the  proper  remedies.  ''If  at 
first  you  don't  succeed,  try,  try  again  !  " 


82  CELERY  FOR  PROFIT. 

In  the  following  I  give  rough  estimates  of  the  outcome  in 
growing  the  crop  : — 

ESTIMATED  PROFITS  OF  THE  SUMMER  CROP  GROWN 
BY  THE  OLD  CULTURE. 

Expenses  per  Acre. 

To  growing  25,000  plants  under  glass,  seed  included,  $35  00 

"    Rent  of  land, 15  00 

"  Manure  and  fertilizers,  including  application,    .    .  50  00 

"    Plowing,  harrowing,  marking, 8  00 

"    Setting  the  plants, 8  00 

"    Cultivating,  handling,  hilling, 12  00 

"  Gathering,  trimming,  washing,  bunching,       ...  25  00 

"    Packing  and  Packages, ,   25  00 

**    Cartage  and  Incidentals, 12  00 

"    Commission  and  transportation, 70  00 

Total  expenses, ^^260  00 


Returns. 

By  1500  dozen  bunches  @,  30  cts,       ^45o  00 

Deduct  expenses, 260  00 

Net  profits, $190  00 

If  the  crop  can  be  disposed  of  in  a  local  market,  to 
dealers  or  regular  retail  customers,  the  largest  item  in  the 
expense  account — commission  and  transportation,  ^70.00 — 
can  be  saved,  and  nearly  all  of  it  added  to  the  net  profits. 
Possibly  higher  prices,  also,  may  be  secured  for  this  early 
crop,  so  that  it  would  not  be  so  very  extravagant,  under 
these  favorable  circumstances,  to  figure  on  nearly  ^300  net 
profits  from  an  acre  of  ground  in  early  celery.  If  the 
grower  can  obtain  such  results,  he  is  on  the  high  road  to 
success. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  he  has  to  buy  his  plants,  they  may 
cost  him  $75.00  instead  of  $35.00.  The  land  may  be  worth 
$500.00  an  acre,  bringing  the  rent  up  to  $30.00  instead  of 
$15.00.     If  the  earthing   up  is  all  done  with  hand  tools 


PROFIT  AXD  LOSS  ACCOUNT.  83 

instead  of  celery  hilling  machines,  the  cost  of  ^'  cultivating," 
handling,  hilling,  may  be  many  times  the  amount  stated 
(^12.00).  Possibly  also  there  may  happen  to  be  a  glut  in 
the  market,  and  your  bunches  sell  for  25  or  even  20  cents 
each.  In  short,  if  many  unfavorable  conditions  should 
happen  to  work  together,  the  profits  may  be  all  consumed 
to  the  last  cent,  and  the  grower  will  have  to  be  thankful  if 
he  gets  his  expenses  back  and  good  pay  for  his  own  labor, 
even  without  a  penny  of  clear  profit. 

ESTIMATED  PROFITS  OF  THE  SUMMER  CROP  GROWN 
BY  THE  NEW  CULTURE. 

Expenses  per  Acre. 

To  growing  1 1 5,000  plants,  seed  included,    ....  fti2ic  00 

"    Rent  of  land, 25  00 

"    Compost,  including  application, 75  00 

"    Fertilizers, *    '  75  00 

"    Plowing,  harrowing,  marking, 10  00 

"    Setting  the  plants, •...'.*'  30  00 

"   Irrigating, ...'.'....'.  50  00 

"    Cultivating  and  weeding, 20  00 

"    Gathering,  cleaning,  bunching, 60  00 

"  Packing  and  packages,     .......    \    \    \  80  00 

"    Cartage  and  incidentals, 45  00 

"    Commission  and  transportation, 325  00 


Total  expenses, ^920 


00 


Returns. 

By  7000  dozen  bunches  @  30  cts  , ^2100  00 

Deduct  expenses, 020  00 


Net  profits _     «ii8o 


00 


It  will  be  seen  that  the  crop,  at  first  sight,  appears  to  be 
exceedingly  expensive  ;  yet  the  net  profits,  when  the 
accompanying  conditions  are  right,  prove  to  be  correspond- 
ingly large.  As  in  the  case  of  the  crop  grown  in  the  old 
way,  the  grower  who  has  a  near  local  market  may  possibly 


84  CELERY  FOR  PROFIT. 

sell  his  crop  without  having  to  pay  commission  and 
transportation  expenses,  and  thus  increase  his  profits 
materially  ;  or  he  may  have  to  buy  his  plants,  and  be 
satisfied  with  a  smaller  price  than  the  one  given  in  my 
estimate,  and  see  his  profits  dwindle  down.  In  all  these 
estimates  I  allow  about  25  per  cent,  of  the  plants  set  out 
for  culls. 


ESTIMATED  PROFITS  OF  THE  LATE  CROP  GROWN  BY 
THE  OLD  CULTURE. 

Expenses  per  Acre. 

To  growing  25,000  plants  in  open  air, ^1000 

"   Rent  of  land, 15  00 

"    Manure  and  fertilizers, 50  00 

"   Plowing,  harrowing,  marking,       8  00 

*<    Setting  the  plants, 8  00 

"    Cultivating,  handling,  hilling, 12  00 

"    Storing  in  trenches  or  root  houses, 50  00 

**   Trimming,  washing,  bunching, 25  00 

"    Packing  and  packages, 25  00 

"    Cartage  and  incidentals, 12  00 

"    Commission  and  transportation, 70  00 

Total  expenses, ^285  00 


Returns. 

By  1500  dozen  bunches  @,  30  cts., ^450  00 

Deduct  expenses, 285  00 

Net  profits, ;^i65  00 

The  loss  in  wintering  the  crop,  or  part  of  the  crop,  is 
sometimes  quite  considerable.  Often  disease  takes  hold  of 
the  plants,  and  spreads  rapidly  even  while  they  are  in  winter 
quarters,  ruining  a  large  part. 

In  growing  the  late  crop  by  the  "  new  culture,"  we  will 
meet  with  difficulties  in  storing.  It  takes  large  storage 
capacities  (one-fourth  of  an  acre)  to  store  the  product  of  an 
acre  of  ground,  and  a  great  deal  of  time  and  labor.     But 


PROFIT  AND  LOSS  ACCOUNT.  85 

the  profits  are   correspondingly  large  also,  if  the  crop  is 
good,  and  the  product  in  demand. 


ESTIMATED  PROFITS  OF  THE  LATE  CROP  GROWN  BY 
THE  NEW  CULTURE. 

Expenses  per  Acre. 

To  £jrowing  115,000  plants  outdoors, ^4000 

•     «'    Rent  of  land, 25  00 

"    Compost,  including  application, 75  0° 

«   Fertilizers, 75  00 

"    Plowing,  harrowing,  marking, lo  00 

"    Setting  the  plants, 30  00 

"    Irrigating, 25  00 

*'    Cultivating  and  weeding, 20  00 

"    Gathering  and  storing, 150  00 

"   Trimming,  washing,  bunching, •    .  75  ^"^ 

"    Packing  and  packages, loo  00 

"    Cartage  and  incidentals, 40  00 

"    Commission  and  transportation, 285  00 

Total  expenses, $95°  00 


Returns. 

By  6000  dozen  bunches  @,  30  cts., $1800  00 

Deduct  expenses, $950  00 

Net  profits,      ^850  00 

These  are  again  subject  to  changes  as  already  explained. 

A  Final  Word  of  Warning. 
Now  once  more  let  me  give  a  word  of  warning  and 
caution.  Don't  let  these  figures  tempt  you.  Don't  try  to 
begin  on  an  acre  scale.  If  you  have  never  grown  celery 
before,  start  in  slowly,  cautiously.  It  is  safer  to  begin  with 
a  square  rod  than  with  an  acre.  Learn  by  experience,  and 
when  you  have  become  familiar  with  the  requirements  of 
the  crop,  and  are  sure  yxDu  can  supply  them,  then  is  the 
time  to  embark  more  largely  in  this  line  of  business. 


ONIONS  FOR  PROFIT. 

A  Full  and  Complete  Hand=Book  of  Onion  Growing. 


At  last  we  publish  a  really  complete  hand-book  on  Onion  grow- 
ing, the  first  ever  issued  ;  it  is  by  Mr.  T.  Greiner,  the  author  of 
the  New  Onion  Culture,  of  which  book  he  says:  "The  New 
Onion  Culture  was  intended  mostly  to  present  a  new  phase  of 
the  business,  and  to  encourage  further  researches  in  an  entirely 
new  direction.  As  a  '  Hand-book  of  Onion  Growing '  it  has  short- 
comings and  is  I'ar  from 
being  complete.  It  leaves 
too  much  room  for  per- 
sonal inquiries.  I  have 
looked  the  field  of  horti- 
cultural literature  in 
America  over  pretty 
closely,  and  am  unable  to 
find  a'  hand-book  for  the 
Onion  grower  the  teach- 
ings of  which  are  based 
on  modern  methods  and 
embody  (as  they  should 
in  order  to  justify  any 
claims  of  being  '  up-to- 
the-times ' )  the  two  meth- 
ods, the  old  and  the  new, 
in  profitable  combina- 
tion." 


T.GI^EINER 

PmL-ADELPHIA,P/V. 


There  is  Big  Money 

in  Onions:  ?500,  and  even 
more,  per  acre,  if  you  know 
how  to  get  it  out.  This  money 
is  for  the  "  uinto-the-times  " 
market  gardener,  the  progres- 
sive ftmner,  and  the  bright 
farmer's  bov  everywhere.  No  more  practical  and  successful  Onion  grower  than 
Ulr.  Greiner  can  be  found,  and  he  gives  his  latest  knowledge  in  Onions  for 
Profit  without  reserve.  The  book  will  undoubtedly  mark  an  epoch  in  works 
on  this  subject.  .   .      ., 

Everv  reasonable  question  as  to  Onion  growing  is  answered  in  its  over  one 
hundred  patres,  which  are  enlivened  with  fully  fifty  illustrations  prepared  for 
this  book,  making  it  handsome  as  well  as  valuable. 

Price,  Postpaid,  50  Cents, 

or  can  be  selected  FREE  as  a  premium  on  or- 
ders amounting  to  FIVE  DOLLARS  or  more. 


PUBLISHED    BY 

W.  ATLEE  BURPEE  &  CO.,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


MANURES; 

How  to  Make  and  How  to  Use  Them. 


A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE  ON  THE  CHEMISTRY  OF 
MANURES  AND  MANURE  MAKING. 


This  new  book  on  the  chemistry  of  manures  and  manure  making  is  a 
complete  and  really  important  work,  written  specially  for  the  use  of  farmers, 
horticulturists,  and  market  gardeners,  by  Frank  W.  Sempers,  Director  of 
the  Fordhook  Chemical  Laboratory. 

It  clearly  explains  the 
principles  underlying  soil 
fertilization  and  gives  the 
best  known  scientific  meth- 
ods for  preparing  and  apply- 
ing natural  and  artificial 
manures  on  the  farm.  It 
has  been  demonstrated  by 
several  of  the  State  Agri- 
cultural Experiment  Sta- 
tions and  by  scores  of  pro- 
gressive farmers  that  chemi- 
cal manures  equal  to  the  best 
ready-made  mixtures  can  be 
made  on  the  farm,  without 
the  aid  of  machinery  and  at 
great  saving  in  cost.  The 
different  raw  materials  en- 
tering into  the  composition 
of  fertilizers  are  plainly 
described,  and  the  best  com- 
mercial sources  of  supply 
given.  Considerable  space 
is  devoted  to  tried  and 
proved  formulas,  drawn  from 
the  latent  scientific  re- 
searches in  America,  Eng- 
land, France,  and  Germany. 
Simple  explanations  are  also  given  of  some  terms  in  chemical  technology 
used  in  the  State  Agricultural  Reports  and  in  the  general  agricultural  and 
horticultural  literature  of  the  day.  The  arrangement  and  classification 
are  in  accordance  with  the  best  scientific  usage,  and  every  formula  is  the 
result  of  actual  field  experfuient.  The  preparation  of  this  book  has  in- 
volved a  large  amount  of  careful  work. 

Price,  Postpaid,  50  Cents, 

or  can  be  selected  FREE  as  a  premium  on  or- 
ders amounting  to  FIVE  DOLLARS  or  more. 


HOWTOMAKE 

^m  ' AND 

"   HOWTOUSETHEM 


Ra^^w^ 


?msm  BY    ^-^ 

W.ATLEE  BURPEE  &(?  {f 

Philadelphia. 


PUBLISHED   BY 

W.  ATLEE  BURPEE  &  CO.,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


How  TO  Cook  Veqetables. 


BY  MRS.  S.  T.  RORER. 

Prixcipal  of  the  Philadelphia  Cooking  School,  Editor  of  Table  Talk, 
Author  of  Mrs.  Rorer's  Cook  Book,  Etc. 


This  new  book,  published  by  ns.  has  met  with  success  beyond 
our  most  sanguine  expectations.  Every  lamily  wants  a  copy,  as 
Mrs.  Rorer  is  acknowledged  authority  by  thousands  of  the  best 
housekeepers  everywhere.  As  all  the  proof-sheets  have  been  care- 
fully revised  by  her  personally,  "HOW  TO  COOK  VEGETA- 
BLES" will  be  found  thoroughly  trustworthy.  The  recipes 
given  have  all  been  proven  by  Mrs.  Eorer  from  practical  tests  in  the 
kitchen  and  on  the  table. 

It  is  a  book  of  182  pages 
of  the  same  size  as  The  Kitchen. 
Garden,  and  gives  numerous 
recipes  for  cooking  all  vari- 
eties of  vegetables  in  every 
style— many  of  which  will  be 
new  even  to  the  most  experi- 
enced housewives.  As  an  illus- 
tration of  how  thoroughly  the 
subject  is  treated,  we  would 
meiition  that  it  gives  forty 
ways  of  cooking  potatoes, 
twenty-six  of  tomatoes,  and 
twenty-two  of  corn.  It  also 
gives  twenty-eight  recipes  for 
making  Soups  and  thirty- 
seven  recipes  for  Salads. 
Besides  "  How  to  Cook  Vege- 
tables," it  also  tells  numerous 
ways  How  to  Pickle,— How 
to  Preserve  Fruits,— How 
to  Can  for  Winter  Use,  "as 
well  as  how  to  serve  vegetables 
cold. 

An  important  supplement  to 
the  general  scope  of  this 
treatise  is  the  addition,  also  by 
Mrs.  Borer,  of  nearly  fifty 
complete  Menus,  for  spring, 
summer,  autumn,  and  winter. 
In  all,  it  is  a  most  complete 
book,  that  will  prove  really 
vnluahle  to  every  progressive 
housewife. 

This  new  book,  of  which  the  copyright  is  owned  by  us,  is  not  for  sale,  and 
can  only  be  had  as  a  Premium  by  those  whoinirchase  Seeds,  Bulbs,  or  Plants  from 
us.  In'order  to  place  it  within  the  reach  of  all  we  offer  the  paper-cover  edition 
entirely  FREE  as  a  Premium  on  an  order  amounting  to  $3.00.  A  copy 
sub;<tantially  bound  in  cloth,  for  kitchen  use,  can  be  had  free  with  an  order 
for  $5.00.  

PUBLISHED    BY 

W.  ATLEE  BURPEE  &  CO.,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


The  Poultry  Yard 

HOW  TO  FURNISH  AND  MANAGE  IT. 


By  W.  Atlee  Burpee.  Fully  illustrated.  We  have  just 
issued  another  edition  of  this  popular  book,  veiy  much  amended, 
with  up-to-the-times  methods  and  usages.  Besides  the  de- 
scriptions of  the  leading 
Land  and  Water  Fowls, 
it  also  contains  chapters 
on  the 


^vfTo 


5,A^ 


Best  Plans  of  Poultry 
Houses— How  to  Make  In- 
cubators—Selection AND 
Mating  of  Stock— What 
AND  How  to  Feed- 
General  Management  — 
French  Method  of  Kill- 
ing— Dressing  and  Ship- 
ping Poultry — Eggs  and 
Chickens— D  i  r  e  c  t  i  o  n  s 

FOR     CaPONIZING    WITH 

Plain  Illustrations  — 
Diseases  with  Tried  and 
Proven  Prescriptions  — 
How  to  Raise  Good  Tur- 
keys, etc.,  etc. 

Price  in  paper  covers, 
handsomely  designed, 

50  cts. ;  bound  in  cloth,  75  cts. ,  postpaid. 

The  paper-cover  edition  can  be  had  FREE,  as  a  premium, 
on  a  seed  order  of  $5.00;  or  bound  in  cloth  on  a  seed  order 
amounting  to  $7.50.  

PUBLISHED    BY 

W.  ATLEE  BURPEE  <&  CO.,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 

BURPEE'S  MANUAL  OF  THOROUGHBRED  LIVE  STOCK  for  1893, 
the  most  complete  of  its  kind,  FREE  upon  application. 


HOW  AND  WHAT  TO  GROW 

IN   A 

Kitchen  Garden  of  One  Acre. 

FULLY  ILLUSTRATED. 
Price  so  Cents  in  Paper;  75  Cents  in  Cloth. 


This  new  book  of  nearly  200  pages  will  prove  very  valuable  to 
all  engaged  in  gardening  ;  it  gives  sound,  common-sense  views  and 
practical  teachings— so  plain  that  the  most  inexperienced  need  not 

fail— so  complete  that  experi- 
enced gardeners  can  read  it 
with  pleasure  and  profit.  It  is 
fully  illustrated,  and  enters  so 
thoroughly  into  details  that  it 
will  undoubtedly  be  warmly 
welcomed  by  the  thousands 
who  inquire,  every  year.  What 
is  the  best  book  on  Garden = 
ing?  Among  other  subjects 
its  contents  embrace  : — 
Selection  of  Location— Preparing  the 
Soil — Laying  out  the  Garden  to  in- 
clude the  various  Vegetables  and 
Fruits,  and  securing  to  each  the 
Most  Suitable  Location— Planting 
and  Care  of  Small  Fruits— The  Best 
Varieties  of  Small  Fruits,  and  Har- 
vesting Same — Directions  for  Mak- 
ing and  Care  of  Hot-beds— Raising 
Vegetable  Plants  —  Transplanting 
—Sowing  Seeds— Practical  Directions  for  the  Special  Cultivation  of  all  Vege- 
tables-Notes on  the  Merits  of  the  Different  Varieties  of  Vegetables— Manures 
— Description,  Proper  Uses,  and  Care  of  Garden  Implements — How  to  Grow 
Second  Crops  to  best  Economize  the  Land  and  Manure— The  Winter  Storage  of 
Vegetables  —  The  Use  and  INIanagement  of  Cold  Frames  in  Winter  — Winter 
Care  and  Pruning  of  Small  Fruits— Culture  of  Succulent  Roots  and  Bulbs- 
Herbs,  their  Uses  and  Manner  of  Growing. 

g^"  The  paper-cover  edition  can  be  had  FREE,  as  a  premium, 
on  a  seed  order  of  $5.00  ;  or  bound  in  cloth,  on  a  seed  order  amount- 
ing to  $7.50.  

PUBLISHED    BY 

W.  ATLEE  BURPEE  &  CO.,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


HOW  TO  GROW 

Cabbages  and  Cauliflowers 

MOST  PROFITABLY. 

This  book  gives  the  most  complete  information  on  the  successful  growing  of 
these  important  crops,  and  treats  fully  on: — 

How  to  succeed  with  CABBAGES— The  Best  Soils— The  Cabbage  a  Greedy 
Feeder— Mauui-es-Plantiug  and  Cultivation— Insects — Early  Cabbages —Late 
Cabbages — Cutting  and  Marketing. 

CAULIFLOWER— Selection  of  Land— Making  Seed  Bed  and  Sowing  Seed- 
Cultivation — The  Pearliest  Forcing  of  Cauliflowers — Cauliflower  in  the  Open 
Ground — For  the  Family  Garden — Enemies  of  the  Cauliflower — Varieties — 
Tying  and  Bleaching — Cutting — Trimming — Packing  for  Market— How  to  Keep 
for  Winter  Use. 

Few,  if  any,  crops  yield  larger  returns  than  Cabbage  and  Cauliflower,  and 
with  this  treatise  on  "  How  to  Grow,"  success  is  reasonably  assured.  Illus- 
trated. 

Price,  postpaid,  30  cts.;  or  can  be  selected  FREE  as  a. premium  on  orders 
amounting  to  c^3.00  or  more. 


How  TO  Grow  Melons 

FOR  MARKET. 

In  order  to  present  the  subject  to  our  readers  in  the  most  comprehensive  and 
concise  manner,  we  have  compiled  from  the  Prize  Essays,  and  our  own  experi- 
ence, a  treatise  that  we  thiuk  will  be  of  value  to  every  melon  grower.  It  treats 
of  both  Muskmelous  and  Watermelons,  with  full  information  on  the  selection  of 
soil,  use  and  application  of  manures,  selection  of  suitable  and  profitable  varieties, 
planting  of  seed,  destruction  of  insects,  copious  notes  on  the  cultivation  of  the 
crop,  how  to  grow  extra  large  melons,  how  and  when  to  gather  for  market,  etc. 

Price,  postpaid,  30  cts. ;  or  can  be  selected  FREE  as  a  premium  on  orders 
amounting  ti)  ;;>>.U0  or  more. 


ROOT  CROPS 

For  Stock  Feeding. 

Especially  those  who  have  never  grown  PvOOt  Crops  should  read  ROOT  CROPS 
FOR  STOCK  FEEDING  and  How  to  Grow  Them.  Illcstratkd.  A 
practical  little  treatise  com!)iled  from  the  Prize  Essays.  Edited  by  W.  Atlee 
Burpee,  with  copious  ailditions  from  our  own  experience  in  growing  these 
crops.  It  treats  fully  not  only  on  How  to  Grow,  but  also  How  to  Store  and  How 
to  Feed  ;  it  also  gives  careful  notes  on  the  most  profitable  varieties.  In  these 
days  of  low  prices  for  cereals  and  high  valuation  of  land,  Root  Crops  for 
Stock  Feeding  is  a  subject  of  the  greatest  importance  to  every  farmer  who 
desires  the  Farm  to  Pay  a  Profit.  It  is  our  earnest  desire  that  the  i)ublication 
of  this  treatise  may  greatly  increase  the  growing  of  Root  Crops  in  the  United 
States,  where  this  branch  of  Agriculture  is  yet  in  its  infancy. 

Price,  postpaid,  30  cts. ;  or  can  be  selected  FREE  as  a  premium  on  orders 
amounting  to  ^3.00  or  more. 


PUBLISHED    BY 

W.  ATLEE  BURPEE  &  CO.,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


HOW  TO  GROW  ONIONS; 

WITH  NOTES  ON  VARIETIES. 


A  complete  and  exhaustive  treatise ;  in  every  way  a  thor- 
oughly reliable  guide  for  all  who  purpose  growing  this  most 
profitable  crop.  This  book  will  open  a  new  field  for  profit 
to  many  who  have  previously  been  deterred  I'rom  growing  onions 
for  market.  It  gives  in  full  the  prize  essay  with  the  above 
title,  by  Mr.  T.  Greiner, 
of  Monmouth  County,  N.  J. ; 
also  Onion  Growing  by  Ir= 
rigation,  by  Col.  C.  H. 
Arlie,  of  Lake  View,  Ore- 
gon— carefully  edited,  with 
additional  notes,  including 
an  article  ou  growing  Sets,  by 
W.  Atlee  Burpee.  Be- 
sides other  matter,  it  gives 
complete  instruction  on  the 
following  subjects: — 

Kinds  ofSoil— Preparation  of  the  Soil 
— >raniires :  How,  When,  and  What 
Kindsto  Apply— Seed — Sowing  the 
Seed— Rolling— Cultivation—Hand 
Weeding— The  Most  Useful  Imple- 
ments —  Thinning  —  Injurious  In- 
sects—Harvesting the  Crop— How 
to  Market— Storing  for  Winter- 
American  Varieties  of  Onions — Italian  Varieties— How  to  Grow,  Handle,  and 
Store  Onion  Sets— Onion  Growing  by  Irrigation. 

Each  subject  connected  with  growing  onions  is  treated  in  a 
plain  and  practical  manner,  so  that  Farmers  who  have  never 
before  raised  onions  for  market  can  succeed,  while  even  experi- 
enced growers  may  find  many  facts  of  interest. 

Illustrated,  Price  30  Cents,  Postpaid, 

or  can  be  selected  FREE  as  a  premium  on  or- 
ders amounting  to  THREE  DOLLARS  or  more. 


^     I    fWATLEEBuRPEE^Co  ^' 


published  by 
W.  ATLEE  BURPEE  &  CO.,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA, 


